Warrior of Narnia: Reawakening
by Kai-Rhiannon
Summary: SEQUEL TO WARRIOR OF NARNIA: THE HEART OF THE WARRIOR! Caspian X and Ava Rydia-descendent of the Warrior and the Heart-have just returned from defeating the Northern Giants-but all is not well. There haven't been Guardians in centuries; now the world as they know it is falling apart. What can be done to save Narnia? Read to find out! Rated T just to be safe. OC/OC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing Narnia related. Only Ava Rydia is mine. As I create new characters, I will add them to the disclaimer. This may or may not be a musical, if it ends up that way, I do not own the songs used.**

**Author's Note: Well, I'm finally going to try making a sequel to **_**Warrior of Narnia: the Heart of the Warrior**_**. Let's see how it goes!**

Prologue

_After the Pevensie kings and queens disappeared from Narnia, a great search was made, led by queen and Warrior Elizabeth and her king—and Heart—Tyler. Sadly, they were unsuccessful. Over the years, the Warrior and the Heart did their best to keep order in Narnia until the time came when there were no more battles to fight. The two monarchs had not aged a day since they stepped foot into Narnia—and they would not age so long as they kept in touch with their Guardian spirit and used their powers._

_They decided to give up being Guardians and began to age. They ruled Narnia for a great many years. They watched as their children grew up and had families of their own, and then they laid down one night and died peacefully in their sleep._

_In that moment, Elizabeth and Tyler were returned to the normal world, only a minute or two had passed since they left. Things were never the same for them. Elizabeth went into a deep depression that she couldn't recover from. Tyler, not strong enough to handle it, despite his years with her in Narnia, left._

_In the centuries in Narnia that followed, most of the royal family was banished when Caspian I conquered Narnia. The power of the Guardians that flowed in their veins had all but died out without being used, and they were powerless to stop the invasion._

_As you all probably know the story of Prince Caspian, I shall skip it._

_After Caspian X became king, he set out in search of the royal Narnian family, and found one descendent—the twenty-year-old Ava Rydia. Caspian reconciled the history of the Telmarines with the history of the Narnians and asked Ava to live in the castle with him. He even crowned her queen, even though they were not married._

_Our story begins immediately following Caspian and Ava's defeat of the Northern Giants, as our heroes are returning home._


	2. Earthquake?

**Disclaimer: Again, the only thing I own is Ava Rydia.**

**Author's Note: The Guardians are similar demigods and rule under Aslan. They must be human (which means they could also be Telmarine, Calormene, Archenlander, or Narnian as long as they're human), and though this was not mentioned in my last story, there is one for each element. They don't all have to rule at the same time, but it's better for balance. In the last story, there were only two Guardians (for water and earth).**

* * *

The soldiers marched toward Cair Paravel in the rain, their plate and leather armor squeaked, and their chainmail chafed against their wet skin and their wounds—but no one cared. They were tired and sore, but they had won the battle against the Northern Giants and they were headed home. At the front, was King Caspian X and Queen Ava Rydia, both on horseback.

When Cair Paravel came into sight, the army paused momentarily to bask in its beauty and splendor.

"Ah, home," Caspian said happily. "It will be nice to sit in front of a nice, warm fire in some dry garments."

"Oh, I don't know, I always rather liked the rain," Ava replied, tilting her face up towards the rain and exhaling softly.

"You are quite the strange one," Caspian said jokingly. Ava smirked.

"Aye, that I am."

"I suppose it would make sense for you to like the rain. Your ancestor, the Warrior of Narnia, controlled the element of water," Caspian thought aloud. Ava turned her gaze to him.

"That was centuries and centuries ago, my lord. The magic in my bloodline has been bred out. I am but a normal woman." Caspian shrugged as the army started to move slowly forward again.

"You never know. Aslan has made Guardians for a reason. He said that Narnia needs them. Aslan knows we haven't had Guardians since Queen Elizabeth and King Tyler were alive." Ava chewed her lip in thought. Caspian had a point. It was once said that, without Guardians, the world would be without balance. What did that mean? Ava couldn't shake the thought from her mind until they were greeted at the gates of Cair Paravel by the subjects of Narnia.

Spouses and children and the elderly came rushing forward to congratulate the soldiers on their victory and reunite with their loved ones. There were soldiers embracing their children and kissing their lovers, all with tears of joy in their eyes. Caspian and Ava greeted their subjects as they rode to the castle, smiling at the joyful scene unfolding around them.

The two monarchs were greeted at the door to the castle by Trufflehunter—who had been given the position of advisor the way Tumnus had been during the Pevensies' reign—and Reepicheep—who was the head of Narnia's military now, but had been asked to stay behind for one reason: to avoid a painful death being squashed between the toes of an angry giant.

Caspian and Ava dismounted their horses, which were taken by servants to be groomed, fed, and put up in the stables.

"Ah, tis good to see your Majesties return! And looking quite well for those who just came from battle," Trufflehunter said, bowing his head respectfully. Ava bent down and gave the large badger a hug.

"It is good to see you as well, Trufflehunter. And how have things been here in Narnia?" Ava asked as she bent down to Reepicheep, who didn't give hugs, but did give hand (or paw) shakes.

"It hasn't been nearly as exciting here as the battle must have been, Your Majesties. Please, tell me all about it! What did I miss?" Reepicheep asked eagerly, trying to refrain from bouncing with excitement. Caspian chuckled.

"We will tell you everything as soon as we've had time to settle in," he answered.

"Yes, of course, Your Majesties. I'll arrange to have supper served in an hour, and we shall converse then," Trufflehunter said, turning and entering the castle, followed by Reepicheep and the two monarchs.

* * *

Ava sat at her dresser, running a brush through her freshly washed hair. It felt good to be clean and in comfortable clothing again. Her room was Queen Elizabeth's room, before she'd married King Tyler. It was located in the east wing of the castle, overlooking the Eastern Sea, and was decorated in different shades of purples from violet to indigo. Tapestries depicting water nymphs and mermaids decorated the walls, and almost everything in the bathroom was encrusted with seashells and mother of pearl.

Truthfully, she had been feeling strange since her conversation with Caspian about the Guardians. She couldn't explain why, but she felt as if something were about to happen; something bad. Was it paranoia? Or was there some Guardian blood left in her veins after all? A knock on the door stirred her from her thoughts. Ava turned her gaze to the door.

"Come in," she called, momentarily forgetting that the doors in the castle were made to keep sound from being heard outside the room. Someone would have to scream at the top of their lungs in order to make the slightest sound escape. Ava stood up and crossed the large suite. She opened the door, and looked down, seeing Trufflehunter.

"Supper is served, Your Majesty, but I was wondering if I may have a word with you first?" the badger asked.

"Of course, Trufflehunter, please come in," Ava replied, standing to the side to let him waddle into her room. "Please sit anywhere you like." Trufflehunter hopped onto a divan next to a window, while Ava resumed her spot in front of her dresser and began to braid her long, henna-colored hair over her left shoulder.

"So what is it you wish to speak to me about?" she asked, tying the braid with a violet ribbon.

"Well…Your Majesty…the subjects of Narnia have been talking," Trufflehunter replied slowly. Ava turned her attention to him.

"And what have they been saying?" she asked.

"Well...they have been wondering why the king and queen are not yet married." Ava stared at him.

"Trufflehunter, Caspian and I are not lovers. Never have been. Never will be. We don't see each other that way."

"I know that, Your Majesty, but the subjects aren't so sure. They have never seen a king and a queen who aren't married," Trufflehunter pointed out.

"The Kings and Queens of Old ruled together and were not married," Ava reminded him.

"Yes, but they were siblings, Your Majesty, and that was centuries ago."

"Your point?" Ava asked, trying to stifle the irritation that was growing within her.

"My point, Your Majesty, is that maybe you and Caspian _should_ think of a union with each other. Not just for the public, but for yourselves as well. Caspian is very popular with the ladies, but he spends all his time seeking out new adventures. And you, milady, I have never seen you look twice at any of the men who try to catch your eye," Trufflehunter answered, sounding much like a concerned parent. Ava softened a bit.

"I understand your concern, my friend, and I thank you for it. However, I am not the type of woman who marries. Men do not want women who can shoot an arrow or ride a horse better than they can. Most noblemen do not want women who speak their minds freely. And men most certainly do not want a woman who changes from enraged, to despairing, to happy again in less than an hour. Speaking of which…" Ava trailed off as she went to her nightstand and retrieved a cordial vial made of amethyst—similar to Queen Lucy's diamond vial—and took out the stopper. She proceeded to pour a strange liquid, the color of opals, into a silver spoon, and then swallowed it like medicine. She replaced the stopper in the vial and returned it and the spoon to the nightstand. She turned back to the badger, who waited for her to finish.

No one else knew that the queen was "sick" except dear Trufflehunter—Ava had sworn him, and the apothecary who made her magical tonic, to secrecy. Not even Caspian knew. Ava suffered from a mental malady. Unfortunately, in a world like Narnia, no one knew much about disorders such as Bipolar Disorder. Therefore, Ava had gone in secret to the local apothecary—the same one known for making Queen Lucy's healing cordial—and requested a special concoction that would suppress her emotions to a "normal" level. According to the journals of many women in the Guardian line before her, the maladies were hereditary.

"There is no man, in Narnia or otherwise, who could satisfy me. And there are none who would want me either," Ava finished.

"Someone might surprise you one day," Trufflehunter said, trying to reassure her. Although she dealt with it as if it were nothing, Ava could not conceal her melancholy feelings from him. He'd taken notice that she had been taking more of her tonic than she used to in order to suppress her sadness.

"Let us forget about this nonsense and go to supper. I've been living off rations for months, and I'm starving," Ava said, trying to change the subject. She crossed the room, to the door, and opened it, ushered Trufflehunter into the hall.

"Just think about it," the badger mumbled as he waddled along beside her.

* * *

Over dinner, Caspian and Ava regaled Reepicheep and Trufflehunter with stories from their battle. It was, all in all, quite a normal affair…until…

"And then, Ava jumped from the archer's cliff onto the neck of this giant and started trying to strangle him with her bow! And when that didn't work, she—" Caspian was cut off abruptly when everything began to shake. It was light at first, and then gradually grew stronger until everyone was holding onto their dishes to keep them from falling off the table. Suddenly, it died down, and then stopped altogether. Everyone looked around, bewildered.

"Was that an _earthquake_?" Ava wondered out loud.

"I don't know. I've never experienced an earthquake before. In fact, I don't know if Narnia has ever had one. I always thought they were things of myths. Or just giants nearby," Caspian replied.

"Whatever it was, I would be quite happy if it never happened again," Reepicheep said.

At once, a loud clap of thunder shook the diamond windows and lightning flashed, lighting the room up even more. Ava looked out a window as rain started to fall in torrents, making it impossible to see outside.

"Some weather we're having," Trufflehunter mumbled.

"I don't understand. It's been raining quite frequently as of late, but I've never seen such a storm before," Caspian said. Ava felt a chill run down her spine, followed by an ominous feeling.

"I don't think this is the worst of it."


	3. Counsel With Wolves

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing except the Guardians, Queen Elizabeth, King Tyler, and Ava Rydia!**

**Also, for those who don't know, this story takes place in the Narnian year 2304. You can find a timeline of Narnian events on.  
**

**I promise the chapters will get longer and more interesting eventually. The story's just warming up. Pay attention though, there are hints of what's to come throughout the chapters.**

**Reviews would be awesome!**

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_Thunk!_ Another arrow hit the center dot on the target. Ava pulled another arrow from her quiver, nocked it, aimed, and shot. _Ping! … Thunk!_ Ava reached for another arrow. Her aim was good, but today she was practicing speed. She had almost lost her life in battle this last time for being too slow. Usually, she liked to practice outside, but today she was confined to the castle training room, for the weather hadn't let up at all. Lightning struck fiercely, and were it not for the heavy rain, several trees would've burned to the ground by now.

As she nocked her next arrow, someone behind her cleared their throat. Ava whirled around; arrow aimed to shoot, but immediately relaxed and lowered it when she saw that it was only Caspian.

"Terribly sorry for disturbing your practice," Caspian said, but the smirk he usually wore when he said that was not present; he looked rather serious.

"You would have been, had I let this arrow fly. You're lucky…again," Ava replied, returning the arrow to her quiver.

"You should work on your close-quarter combat for the times when you can't shoot. But that must be saved for another time. We are needed in the Great Hall," Caspian said, turning and leaving. Ava's brow furrowed. What was so important that Caspian wasn't even his usual, joking self this morning?

* * *

Once Ava had quickly changed out of her training garb into something more appropriate for a meeting, she made her way into the Great Hall. Caspian was already seated in his throne on the raised dais at the head of the room. Trufflehunter and Reepicheep were in between the two thrones. At the foot of the dais stood two large, grey wolves, obviously talking ones.

As Ava drew closer, headed to her throne, she saw that one of the wolves had something clasped in it jaws.

Caspian looked up from the wolves, saw Ava moving forward, and immediately stood up in respect.

"Ah, gentlemen, may I introduce to you Narnia's queen. Her Majesty Ava Rydia," Caspian said as Ava ascended the dais. She nodded to him respectfully and turned to face their guests.

"Hello, guests, I apologize for my delay. What can we do for you?" Ava said, getting into business-mode as she sat down, fanning the skirt of her pearl-grey dress around her feet.

"Milady, our guests have come to us all the way from the edges of Archenland with a bit of a problem," Caspian said.

"I see. Well I am glad to see that you have made it here safely. The weather has not been very accommodating for travelers as of late. What seems to be the problem?" Ava asked, shaking herself from her thoughts and getting back to business. The wolf with the empty mouth stepped forward, clearing his throat.

"Your Majesty, my name is Matias, and this," he gestured to the wolf next to him, "is Bane," Matias took a moment to nod respectfully before he continued.

"For quite some time, many of our kind have been slaughtered mercilessly, with the killer remaining unknown." Ava frowned.

"Why did you not come to us sooner?" she asked, noticing that the thing in Bane's mouth appeared to be the pieces of a weapon of some sort.

"We thought it was only in our area at first. As soon as we discovered that it has been happening as far north as Ettinsmoor, we came straight to you. And, if we're being honest, we had hoped someone had already brought this to your attention," Matias replied.

"No, we knew nothing of it until now. Do you know anything that may tell us who this poacher may be?" Caspian asked. Matias shook his head.

"Nay, Your Majesty, all we have to go on is this," he gestured for Bane to come forward. He did as instructed, dropping the broken weapon from his mouth and stepping back. Caspian descended the dais and picked up the pieces of what was once a spear, turning them over in his hands and scrutinizing them carefully.

"Is there anything familiar about the weapon?" Ava asked. Caspian stood up and brought the pieces to her.

"Not at all, but I did notice this symbol carved into the head of spear." Caspian held out the head, carved from bone. Ava took it carefully and held it up to the light for further inspection. Carved into the side of it was a tribal wolf design, which had then been stained blue.

"Whoever made this was a master craftsman. Though the fact that the spear head is made of bone rules out Calormen, for they would use bronze. It rules out Archenland, for they would use steel as Narnians do. Telmarines would use iron. Those from the Lone Islands would use stone," Ava said to Caspian. He stared at her, dumbfounded. Most women didn't know much about weapons, particularly ones they didn't use themselves.

"How do you know all this?" he asked. Ava allowed herself a small smile.

"I've spent much of my life studying weaponry, dear Caspian. It comes in handy. It also tells me that this spear is definitely much too small to be that of a giant. Not to mention, if a giant was killing talking wolves, he—or possibly she—would not need a spear." Caspian nodded in agreement.

"So what do we tell them?" he asked quietly, so only Ava would hear. Ava thought for a minute, and then turned her gaze to the wolves.

"Dear friends, thank you for making this known to us. Rest assured, we will end this slaughtering. In the meantime, you are welcome to take refuge in Cair Paravel." Ava turned to Trufflehunter. "Trufflehunter, please escort our guests to a place they can stay." The badger nodded and gestured for the wolves to follow him, leading them out of the room. Once they were gone, Ava turned her attention to Reepicheep.

"Reepicheep, I want you to send out messengers to every hunter in Narnia. To catch a master hunter, we're going to need _many_ master hunters. Do this now."

"Right away, Your Majesty." Reepicheep bowed and exited the room quickly. Ava stood up and descended the dais, walking with purpose.

"And where are you headed?" Caspian asked inquiringly. Ava turned back to him.

"To practice archery, of course. I intend to lead the hunt for this killer myself," she answered. She turned and continued on her way to change back into her training garb. As Caspian watched her leave, a loud clap of thunder startled him. He turned his gaze to the closest window.

"Aslan's mane! This is the most outlandish weather I have ever witnessed in all my years!"


	4. Guardians' Scroll

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing except Ava and the Guardians and the wolf hunter.**

**Note: Samonios is the Celtic month of October/November. Since one of the summer months in Narnia is called Greenroof (and none of the other months are mentioned), I decided that October seemed too modern and mundane. So this is supposed to be during late October.**

**Reviews please!**

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Every hunter throughout Narnia and Archenland was hired to track down the murderer of the talking wolves. Unfortunately, the condition of the weather only continued to worsen, making it difficult for the hunters to find anything. Ava went out regularly to inspect the areas where wolves had been found dead. She had managed to find some footprints, which were reasonably large and humanoid, but nothing else; the heavy rains washed away any evidence that may have been left.

If that wasn't bad enough, other strange things were starting to happen. The days were supposed to be getting shorter, it was autumn, and the month of Samonios, but instead, they were all mixed up. Sometimes the sun would be bright and long-lasting; other times, the moon reigned longer. The temperatures were erratic—changing from freezing cold to sweltering hot and back in unpredictable patterns. More "earthquakes" had occurred, each one longer and more severe than the one before. Every time Ava went out with a group of hunters, she noticed changes in the wildlife as well. Some plants were dying from no apparent cause, while others were taking over.

* * *

One night, Ava was having trouble sleeping, so she decided to make her way to the castle library to find something boring that would put her to sleep. She got out of bed, threw on a turquoise, satin robe over her chemise, lit an oil lamp, and pattered out of her room, all the way to the library. The library was its own tower in the castle. The room was circular-shaped, with one side being nothing but stained-glassed windows, and the rest being rows and rows of books, with a diamond dome for a ceiling. The room was tastefully decorated with dark red and tawny gold velvet chairs and divans for comfortable reading and oak wood tables and display podiums.

Ava walked up and down the rows, in search of something incredibly boring. She tried a few books on Economics and Government, but now that she was wide awake, nothing was making her sleepy. With a sigh, she returned another book to its space on a shelf and decided to search for something more engaging to read. Up and down the aisles she walked. When she found nothing interesting—or she hadn't already read—on the first level, she climbed the stairs to the second level and continued her search. Level after level she went, but she found nothing that would satisfy her. She didn't know why.

At last, Ava was on the very top level of the library, and avoiding the edge of the railing at all cost—heights made her very anxious. She had no clue why she'd even decided to venture this far up—surely there would be nothing of interest to her up here—the books had gone so long without being touched that they were all covered in a thick layer of dust; there were even a few scrolls lying about!

Ava felt herself drawn to a specific section of scrolls. Curiosity got the better of her and she removed one from the shelf, gently blowing the dust off of it. She made her way down the first level and placed the scroll on a long table. Carefully, she untied the silk ribbon that kept it shut and was surprised when the tightly wound scroll quickly unwound until the end of it nearly touched the ground. Ava found the top of the scroll, grabbed a magnifying glass, and began reading. At first, she was only half-paying attention, but it didn't take her long to realize that she was reading about the Guardians of Narnia.

Ava sat up straighter on the divan she had wandered to and leaned over the scroll. It spoke of Guardians, and how they were typically exempted from history. It had been decided that it was best for the people not to know that there were mystical people, equivalent to demigods, controlling the balance of things. There should always be a Guardian for each element, and there were six—earth, air, fire, water, light (which also covered lightning), and darkness. Six Guardians for six elements; they also played other roles. There were other roles that must be played, which came in pairs—the Warrior and the Heart (or the Judge), the Waker and Judge (or the Heart), the Healer and the Reaper, and the last was the Waker.

The Warrior was the Guardian of warfare and battle strategy. The Heart was the Guardian of emotions-particularly love; without the Heart watching over the land, spreading seeds of love and passion, the inhabitants of Narnia would forget how to love one another.

The Judge presides over the scales of justice, being careful to keep them from tipping too far in one direction; keeping the levels of good and evil in Narnia equal.

The Healer was the Guardian of birth and life; the Healer maintains the circle of life; making sure that every death is met with rebirth and all destruction is met with healing and growth. The Reaper was the Guardian of death, making sure that every circle of life continues, but in a different way than the Healer. Whereas the Healer provides growth, rebirth, and life, the Reaper brings withering, age, and death where they are needed in order to keep the circle going.

And the Waker was the Guardian of spirit. This Guardian was the Guardian of Guardians; the one to awaken those who were "sleeping". The Waker sometimes appeared alone or before the other Guardians.

Ava had no idea what the last part meant, but she kept reading. All Guardians were Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve imbued with special powers, given to them by Aslan's father. If ever there was a time when no Guardians reigned, it would result in absolute chaos. At least two partnered Guardians must reign at all times. Every time two Guardians died or gave up their powers, two different Guardians would take their place. This would ensure that balance was kept. For instance, a Warrior Guardian would never reign twice in a row. Guardians also changed elements from time to time. A Warrior could rule over earth, air, fire, water, or any other element; it was all dependent upon the person.

There had been much speculation over what would happen should the scales tip and the balance be upset. Scholars and clerics alike agreed on one thing: the world would die. The elements would turn on each other, ripping the world apart. Which is why, every time two Guardians gave up their position, they must help Aslan choose the next ones.

Ava gasped and stood up abruptly, the scroll dropping from her lap to the floor. This explained the strange weather and the earthquakes! There hadn't been Guardians since Queen Elizabeth and King Tyler's reign, and the world was starting to fall apart because of it. How it had lasted this long, Ava was unsure of. She needed to tell Caspian at once!

Ava hurriedly rolled up the scroll and exited the library, nearly sprinting through the castle towards Caspian's suite. As she was passing some windows, something caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned her attention the large snowflakes that were falling from the sky. She pattered to a small door that lead out onto the castle grounds, pulled back the bolt that kept it locked at night, and proceeded to step outside to see the snow.

As she did, she tripped over something and fell in a heap in the snow that had already accumulated on the ground. She winced, the heels of her hands were scraped, and her ankle smarted. She turned her gaze to see what she had tripped over, and felt her eyes widen in shock. There, at her feet, was a wounded man.

He was wearing leather armor, dyed blue, with black fabric underneath, and a cloak of animal fur, which was now covered in blood. The armor accented his physic very well; he had broad shoulders, well-built arms, and large hands. He was definitely strong, but not overly so. He appeared to be quite tall, but Ava couldn't tell while he was lying down. Ava shifted so she could get a closer look at his face. His skin appeared to have been fair at one point, but was now _very_ lightly tanned—possibly from fighting in the sun? He had a long, thin scar going across his neck. Ava wondered how he got it and gulped reflexively. His hair was short, but was quite unruly on top. Ava decided that, if this man shaved his well-groomed goatee, he would have a boyish air to his features. The man could not have been past his late twenties or maybe thirty, but his light brown hair had small traces of silver in it. Maybe he'd seen too much battle in his lifetime.

Ava found herself intrigued by this man, but why, she did not know. Going into medic-mode, she began searching the man's body for his wounds. She saw bite marks in the leather that covered the lower right side of his torso. Carefully, Ava lifted up the mangled armor, and then peeled away the black fabric underneath. What she saw made her hiss, imagining the pain—his side had been all but ripped out by an animal. She looked back to the man's face; he was unconscious, but his features were contorted with pain. Ava felt a strong urge to caress this man's face. He looked like he was in so much agony and his skin appeared to be invitingly soft for a warrior. Just one little brush of her fingertips wouldn't hurt, right?

Ava tentatively reached out to touch his cheek with her left hand…

Suddenly, the man awoke with a gasp of pain, and grabbed her wrist with his left hand. Ava squealed in surprise and found herself staring into a pair of striking, icy blue eyes. The man opened his mouth to say something, when Ava noticed that, on his bare left bicep, was a blue tattoo of a tribal wolf; the _same_ tribal wolf on the spear that Bane had brought to her. Her lips parted in a small "O" shape. Now she knew what kind of animal the cloak had been made from—a talking wolf.

This was the man she had been hunting.


	5. Sinaaq

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ava Rydia and the Guardians. Sinaaq is someone else's character for roleplaying, which I was able to use with some creative license. I also do NOT own the quotes from William Shakespeare's play **_**Richard III**_**, nor do I own the modern translation of them.**

**Note: The point of view will remain in third person, but now the focus will sometimes change from Ava to Sinaaq, depending on the situation. It shouldn't be confusing, but if it is, tell me in a review and I will see what I can do.**

**Reviews! Pretty please?**

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Ava sat, frozen in place for what seemed like hours, when it was really only a minute. Without thinking, she punched the man hard across the jaw, knocking him out cold and injuring her hand.

"OW!" she cried, clutching her hand to her chest. "Why did I just do that?" she asked herself. She looked up, still cradling her hand, and looked around. The palace guards wouldn't be able to hear her if she called to them from here. She looked down at the man and groaned. He would be way too heavy for her to lift; Ava had never been known for strength, but instead for agility, speed, and using her small size to her advantage. As she was trying to think of a way to transport the poacher, Ava noticed a trail of blood, indicating the direction from which he came, and a few feet away lay a large, bronze, circular shield. _He must have discarded the shield when he became too weak to carry it. He's lost a lot of blood._

Finding no immediate solution to her predicament, Ava stood up and took a few deep breaths. She turned and opened the door as wide as it would go, then put a small rock in front of it for good measure. Then came her next problem: how to drag the man into the castle and into the infirmary without further damaging his wounds. She chewed on her lip. An idea came to her and she began searching him for weapons. She managed to find a small dagger, which appeared to be for hunting or eating rather than combat, and began hacking away at the fur cloak until she had a scrap big enough to cover the wound. She then proceeded to use the dagger to cut a long strip from her chemise. Unfortunately, the thin material ripped easily, and by the time she was done, her chemise was only brushing the tops of her knees. As it was, she was already quite indecent and very cold.

Ava knelt down and took the strip of chemise, struggling to run it underneath the man at his lower back. Once she did that, she took the scrap of cloak and pressed it to the wound, then bound it in place as tight as she could with the chemise scrap. She stood up, took a few deep breaths, grabbed the man's left arm, and began to pull him through the doorway. Aslan's mane, he was heavy! Inch by inch she dragged him through the corridors towards the infirmary. It seemed like forever had passed by the time she managed to get him into the infirmary. She was exhausted and the sun was starting to rise. Ava grabbed an apron and began pulling medical supplies out of draws and off of shelves, setting to work removing the man's clothes and tending to his wound. He was a criminal, yes—for the murder of a talking animal was the same offense as murdering a human in Narnia—but she wouldn't have him die before giving him a trial and sentence.

* * *

The first sense Sinaaq regained, when he came to from oblivion, was pain, but not where he expected. His mind was foggy, and he couldn't remember the events before he passed out quite well. He remembered losing a fight with a particularly dangerous talking wolf. He remembered nearly having his entrails ripped out through his side. He remembered punching the wolf in the snout while his other hand was shoved in his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. He didn't care that this wolf escaped, it wasn't the right one anyway. He remembered picking up his shield and retreating. He remembered getting lost and ending up in the courtyard of castle Cair Paravel. He remembered lying on the cold ground, feeling numb. Suddenly, as the rest of his senses returned, he was able to remember being startled awake by a young woman…right before she punched him. He made to reach up to touch the place where she'd given him a very impressive right hook, when he felt something cold and heavy around his wrist.

Sinaaq's eyes shot open, darting around, taking in every detail of his surroundings. He had been propped into a sitting position in the corner of a cell, his wrists shackled to the wall with long chains. His wound had been dressed and, when he peeled back the dressing for a peak, he found that it had been stitched shut as well. The only source of light came from a small, barred window, too high up for most people to reach. The only article of clothing that had been left of him was his black trousers. He groaned and ran a hand over his face, wincing when he touched his jaw. Thankfully, the woman had not been strong enough to break it.

Sinaaq could not remember much about her, for he had been faint from blood loss, though he wished he could. As if on cue, he heard a door opening, then footsteps—they were obviously from a small person—then key jingling, then a key turning in the lock to the wooden door of his cell. The door opened, and Sinaaq froze. He was looking at the woman who punched him in the jaw.

She was definitely small, but she was more than skin and bones; she had soft curves, accented by her simple gown. The gown was the same indigo shade as the Eastern Sea, which reflected in her grey eyes and brought out the ivory shade of her skin and the red in her henna locks, which were pulled back in a long braid that draped over her left shoulder. A gold crown, made to look like vines, with little pearls on the leaves, kept any stray strands of hair away from her face. Her face was soft, almost like a child's, but held a certain maturity that aged her around twenty years old. She had the air of authority that was to be expected and was not at all intimidated by Sinaaq—not that he was very intimidating at the moment anyway.

Sinaaq blinked and shook his head when he realized he had been staring. The woman, who he now knew to be the Queen Ava Rydia that he had heard so much about, gracefully fanned her skirt out around her body as she sat down in front of him, obviously making a point to stay just out of reach. She never took her eyes off of him, and Sinaaq could honestly say he didn't mind.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked. Sinaaq nodded.

"Yes. You must be Queen Ava," he answered.

"I am. Do you have a name, wolf hunter?" Ava asked her voice remaining emotionless and business-like. She never once broke eye contact. It was almost unnerving. Thankfully, Sinaaq wasn't easily unnerved.

"I do. My name is Sinaaq."

"Sinaaq. Alright then," the queen said as if trying out the name. Sinaaq liked hearing her say his name. "Do you know why I have brought you here, Sinaaq?" she asked.

"I'm sure I could guess, but why don't you tell me and save me the trouble?" Sinaaq answered with a small smirk. Queen Ava raised an eyebrow at him, the way a woman does when she's trying to say "you're really going to try pushing your luck?"

"You are here to await trial for the murder of many talking wolves in Narnia. How do you plead?" Ava responded, her voice growing slightly harder.

"Guilty," Sinaaq answered. Ava's eyes twitched, almost narrowing at him.

"You know honesty does not grant you anything?" she asked. Sinaaq nodded.

"Yes, but lying grants me nothing either," he replied.

"That is true," Queen Ava agreed. She was silent for a moment. Was she trying to think of something to say? Or was she waiting for him to beg for his life? Did they even have a death sentence in Narnia?

"Why?" she asked, her voice softer, though her visage did not change.

"Pardon me?" Sinaaq asked, leaning forward a little.

"Why…did you kill those wolves?" she asked, her voice harsher.

Sinaaq sat there for a minute, thinking about his answer. There were so many ways he could go about it.

"Does it matter why I did it?" he asked.

"Maybe," Queen Ava answered.

"Then it's for me to know and you to wonder about," Sinaaq replied with a cheeky smirk. The queen glared at him as if her eyes could set him ablaze. She stood up, looking down at him, the muscles in her tiny jaw tightening.

"I guess I expected too much out of a common murderer," she said, venom in her voice. Sinaaq chuckled.

"Oh, I can assure you, Majesty, I'm far from common." The queen rolled her eyes.

"Lucky for you, Narnia has no death penalty," Queen Ava said. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and mumbled, "Either let Aslan send lightning to strike the murderer dead or let the earth open wide and devour him." Sinaaq chuckled.

"Toots, you don't know the rules of charity. When faced with bad, you're supposed to turn it into good. And when subject to curses, you're supposed to convert them into blessings," he said. He smirked as he watched the tiny queen grow more irritated, flexing her fingers like a cat, as if she were ready to drag those nails across his face.

"Villain, you do not know the laws of Aslan or of man," the queen growled. Sinaaq found her anger to be quite fetching. She was a fiery little thing, though he was not fool enough to think she wouldn't claw his face to shreds for saying so.

"You accuse me so, but would explaining myself really change anything?" Sinaaq pointed out. The queen crossed her arms, looking much like a petulant child.

"Maybe, but if you killed yourself, it would show that you felt some guilt for killing others," Queen Ava replied. Sinaaq didn't know why, but he was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected her to be so cruel. Then again, in her eyes, he was a murderer and she was being just.

"Let's say I didn't kill them," Sinaaq said, stroking his goatee thoughtfully.

"Then you might as well say they're not dead. But they _are_ dead, and you killed them," Queen Ava replied.

"And what if they provoked me?" Sinaaq asked.

"What provoked you was your own bloody mind. … You killed these wolves did you not?" the queen replied. Sinaaq nodded.

"Yes, I'll grant you that."

"Then let Aslan grant me that you'll be damned for those wicked deeds! Oh, those wolves were gentle, mild, and virtuous," she lamented. The queen's stoic façade was gone. Sinaaq had clearly done more than annoyed her. She was angry and mourning the loss of her subjects.

"That will please Aslan, who has them now," Sinaaq said. Queen Ava clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms. Sinaaq watched her carefully. He knew he was an irritating bastard at times, but it had only taken a moment for the queen to go from calm and collected, to shaking with rage. He wondered if there was something else wrong with her besides his smart-ass remarks getting to her.

"They are with Aslan, where you will never go," she said through her teeth.

"Let him thank me, who helped them get there. They're better suited to be there than here," Sinaaq said, gesturing to the raging weather outside.

"And you're not suited for any place except hell," Queen Ava spat. Sinaaq stood up, albeit slowly and painfully, chuckling as he did so.

"Yes, and one other place, if you will hear me name it."

"This dungeon?" the queen said sarcastically, a hand on her hip. Sinaaq stepped forward until his chains would not let him and leaned so that his lips were just a hairsbreadth from the queen's ear.

"Your bedchamber," he whispered huskily. The queen's jaw dropped and she pushed him back angrily.

"There is no rest to be had in any bedchamber where you are!" she growled, taking a backwards step towards the door.

"Exactly, madam, until I lie with you," Sinaaq said cheekily, smirking more. The queen had had enough and turned to punch, not smack, him across the jaw again, but he grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him firmly, but not enough to hurt her, and kissed her right on the lips. Queen Ava squeaked and wriggled, but her wriggling only made him hold onto her more. Sinaaq smiled against her mouth when he felt her start to relax—but was startled when she brought her knee up into his groin.

Sinaaq doubled over in pain as the queen twisted out of his grasp. She stomped to the door, opened it, and glared down at him.

"Your vile behavior has only served to condemn you further. You will be retrieved later this evening for your hearing." Sinaaq looked up just in time to see the door slam and hear it lock. He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Angering the queen had been good fun. He was usually only that irritating to people he hated, but she was such a vixen when angry, he just couldn't resist. Her lips had been so soft and warm…and though she did not return the action, it had been fantastic nonetheless. Sinaaq sighed.

"I'm going to pay for that," he said aloud, running a hand through his unruly hair.

* * *

In the castle training room, Ava was busy beating a practice dummy to a pulp. The criminal Sinaaq had been so infuriating! She wanted to throttle him! He was just so…

Ava growled and threw another punch at the dummy, this time, breaking it and making it fall in pieces on the stone floor.

"Oops," Ava said as she stared down at the broken equipment.

Usually, if someone made her angry, beating things up made her feel so much better, but Sinaaq had gotten under her skin and, like a pesky infection, she couldn't seem to be rid of thoughts of him. She growled and kicked the pieces of the broken dummy hard enough to send them flying.

"Whoa there!" exclaimed Caspian, dodging a projectile piece of broken dummy as he entered the room. Ava glanced up at him, then started looking around to see what she wanted to abuse next.

"What has you so vexed?" Caspian asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Just our new prisoner, the infamous wolf hunter," Ava grumbled in reply.

"Did he say something to upset you?" Caspian asked, concerned.

"Oh, he said many things. All of which were vile and uncouth and crude. I'll be happy to be rid of him." Caspian raised an eyebrow.

"You know the most likely sentence will be for him to live out the rest of his days in the dungeon, right?"

"Yes, I know that. Still, I cannot help but wish we had a better solution," Ava replied sulkily.

"Did you manage to get an explanation from him? Did he have a reason for his crimes?" Caspian asked.

"He would not say; he decided to be difficult," Ava answered with a growl. Caspian chuckled, causing Ava to snap her gaze to him.

"What, pray tell, is so damn funny, Caspian?"

"I'm just eager to see what this man is like. I've never seen anyone vex you this way. Maybe he can give me some ideas," Caspian replied, ducking as Ava plucked a dagger from the wall and threw it at him. Thankfully, she missed and it clattered to the floor, leaving Caspian laughing as he exited the room. Ava growled and kicked another practice dummy.

"Stupid criminal. Stupid king. Stupid men," she grumbled.


	6. Ava Meets Amarok

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Guardians, Ava Rydia, and Sinaaq. Amarok is a mythological creature and is not of my creation.**

**Note: In this chapter, the focus will turn to Caspian for a short time.**

* * *

The southern sun was still rising, peeking through the clouds for the first time in weeks. Some areas of the forest still had snow on the ground while others were glistening with dew. Today, Ava had decided to take her Friesian, Dorchadas, out for a ride. It had been a long time since he was able to get some exercise, due to the storms. Besides, Ava wanted to do a sweep of the land and see how much damage had been done.

As she rode, she grew more and more troubled. There were trees that had been struck by lightning, trees that had been burned, and trees that had been uprooted altogether. There were small fissures in the ground from where the earth had shifted and there were rocks that had shattered. This was just the start of it. Plants that were still alive had taken over; everything was enveloped by large vines with thorns and poisonous flowers. It was as if the forest was going wild. The more she saw, the faster she told Dorchadas to canter. She flew through the woods, steering her horse around trees and jumping over logs. When she reached the river, she stopped at a halt. There was barely any river left. The water level had lowered drastically, to the point where she could see the riverbed underneath. Ava could only stare in shock. Things were escalating quickly—more so than she originally thought.

She dismounted her horse and climbed down the edge of the bank, splashing into the river; it only came up to her knees now. As she stared at the water trickling along, a water spirit formed and stared up at her. The nymph said nothing; she merely stared at Ava pitifully. As the river wasted away, so would all the nymphs and spirits that inhabited it.

"I'm so sorry," Ava whispered, not knowing what else to say. The spirit gave her one last look, and then dissolved into the river again. Ava pinched the bridge of her nose to stifle the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She needed to return to the castle and take her tonic; she couldn't afford to break down now.

As she cantered back to Cair Paravel, she kept going over everything that needed done as soon as possible. On the top of her list, was searching through the scrolls in the library to find more information of the Guardians, if there was any. She needed to know how to find the next Guardians. She remembered reading that every generation of Guardians was chosen by the previous generation. As far as anyone knew, Queen Elizabeth and King Tyler had retired without picking a new generation. They were the last Warrior and Heart; they'd had power over water and earth. Normally, an entirely new pair of titles and elements would be given to the next Guardians, but the whole world was on "reset" more or less and needed all the elements and titles to be brought forth. This meant starting with the Waker; a Waker needed to be brought forth to awaken the others. But how did one create a Waker from nothing? Without Aslan, how could someone gain the powers of a Guardian?

Next on her list, and something she was not looking forward to in the slightest, was Sinaaq's hearing. She was in no mood to deal with his smart-ass remarks today, but the hearing was in a couple of hours—Caspian had wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. She slowed Dorchadas to a trot, attempting to make the journey back slower. She was becoming more engrossed in her thoughts when a low growl sounded through the woods and echoed off the trees. Ava slowed Dorchadas to a halt and looked around. She couldn't see anything. Her senses now on alert, she removed her bow from her back and grabbed an arrow from her quiver, nocking it and drawing it back, ready to fire if needed. She tried to listen, but she wasn't known for good hearing, and her heart was pounding in her ears.

Another growl, more menacing than the first, sounded—much closer this time. Dorchadas started to snort and paw at the ground with his hooves, his ears tilted back towards his head, only twitching when a noise was made. His nostrils flared and the whites of his eyes were beginning to show. Ava couldn't hold the reins and her bow at the same time, so she made sure her legs gripped him firmly in case he decided to run. It was now that she wished she'd practiced archery on horseback more often. Her heart pounded faster and a cold sweat broke out down her spine, making her padded, navy blue ranging coat a little hot inside. Another growl, much louder, ending in a sort of howl, sounded so close, it couldn't have come from more than a few feet away. Dorchadas, now completely frightened, let out a blood-curdling neigh and reared up suddenly. Ava, caught completely off-guard, tumbled in a backwards somersault off his back, her bow flying from her hands after the arrow she had nocked had been accidentally shot into the dirt.

Her head hit the ground hard and, for a moment, her vision blurred and her head swam. When she could see clearly again, she kicked her legs up, using her hands to push off from the ground, and landed on her feet in a crouch, her eyes darting every which way. Her horse had run away, judging by the hoof prints, in the direction of Cair Paravel. Her bow was lying a few feet away, and the arrows from her quiver were scattered over the forest floor. She stood up straight and walked to her bow, bending to pick it up—that's when she heard it; the sound of leaves crunching broke the silence…right behind her. She froze, hearing heavy breathing and a low rumbling growl. She gripped her bow tightly in her right hand, swallowing hard. Ava tried to be sneaky and whip around to surprise her assailant, and failed.

Before she could think, a large mass of fur and fangs charged her, knocking the bow from her hand and spinning her around. When her eyes focused again, she was face to face with the largest wolf she had ever seen. Its eyes were silver and its fur was the color of snow. Hot breath blew from its nostrils, making puffs in the cool air as it stared her down. Ava was frozen in place. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Surely, this would be the end of her.

"A tender thing like you should not be out all by yourself," the wolf spoke, surprising Ava with its distorted, snarling voice. She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't make any noise come out. If she cried for help, she would probably have her throat ripped out. The wolf stepped forward. Ava mirrored it and stepped back.

"Ah, ah, we both know you cannot outrun me, little queen. You will make your death much quicker if you just cooperate."

"W-who are you?" Ava stammered, finding her voice. She tried to force herself to think of an escape plan, but she wasn't finding one.

"I am Amarok, spirit of the snows," the wolf replied, stepping closer still. Ava's brow furrowed slightly as she shifted in place.

"Spirit of the snows? I'm afraid I've never heard of you. Where do you come from? Why are you here?" she asked, trying to stop her voice from shaking.

"I come from very far North, where the giants live. I have come here searching for a man—a man I intend to kill," Amarok answered.

"Who is this man? I might know him. After all, it is my business to know of everyone in Narnia," Ava said, stalling while she continued to search for an escape. It was then that her fingertips brushed against the ivory horn that hung at her waist. _Queen Susan's horn!_ Ava had completely forgotten she was carrying it. Caspian had given her the horn for times when she went out alone. If she could just be fast enough to get one blow into it, maybe…it wasn't a very good idea, and neither were the odds that she'd survive this. Still, it was something.

"Sinaaq." That was the only response the wolf gave. Ava froze, her fingertips still touching the horn. The wolf was hunting Sinaaq? How many wolves had he killed to cause this spirit to seek vengeance on him? Though, as these thoughts entered her mind, she knew there had to be more to it than that, for Amarok did not seem to be on the side of good and Sinaaq, though a scoundrel, did not seem to be evil.

"I have a man named Sinaaq in my dungeons. What do you want him for?" Ava asked, managing to hide her fear this time. She stood up straighter, trying to show her authority.

"It is because of him that I am trapped in this form! I cannot be free until he dies," Amarok replied, snarling in anger.

Ava tried not to jump as her thoughts raced. She had so many questions that needed answered. Amarok spoke again.

"If you bring me to Sinaaq, I may let you live, tiny queen." The emphasis on her height was really getting old. Now she had a choice to make. She could buy herself more time by bringing Amarok to Sinaaq, which may let her formulate a plan, or she could say no and risk dying now. What to do? She knew nothing of Sinaaq. She did not know his past, or if he had a family, or if he really was the scoundrel he seemed to be. Letting him die at the hands of this monster shouldn't have matter to her right? But as soon as she thought that, something inside her told her she was wrong. There was only one way to find out.

"Hmm…the offer seems so enticing," Ava said, pretending to think. "I say…NO!"

Quickly, she yanked the horn from her belt, breaking the worn leather straps in the process, and put it to her lips. She managed to get one good blow on it before the wolf barreled into her, knocking the wind out of her and pinning her to the ground. The horn was thrown from her hand; she didn't see where it landed. Her head ached fiercely and she swore she had hit it on a rock or a tree root. Her vision was spotty and she couldn't seem to focus as the wolf hovered over her; his breath smelled of blood and death. The last thing she heard was Amarok's voice in her ear.

"Give my regards to Sinaaq." With those words, Amarok began gnawing on her left shoulder. The pain was too much and soon, Ava lost consciousness.

* * *

Caspian found Ava unconscious and lying in a pool of her own blood. Her head and her left shoulder had been bleeding for Aslan knew how long and had not stopped. He bent over her, checking her carotid artery for a pulse. It was there, but very faint. If they didn't get her to the infirmary soon, she would die. Thankfully, Caspian had Queen Lucy's cordial on him, which he only used for the direst situations—those of which were rare. He took the stopper out of the vial and tilted Ava's head so her lips would part. He tipped the vial carefully and tapped it until a drop fell into the queen's mouth, then he put the stopper in it and returned it to his belt. He waited on baited breath for the cordial to take effect. Slowly, the wound in Ava's shoulder healed until the only sign of it left was the blood on her clothes and skin. Caspian carefully checked her head, just to be certain, and found it also healed. Now she needed to wake up.

Caspian sat there, cradling Ava in his arms to keep her warm, hoping she would awake, but the queen did not stir once. Rather than wait in the woods, in the dark, for her to wake up, he picked her up carefully and carried her to his horse. Gently, he draped her body across the saddle, and then climbed on. He held her across his lap and cantered—which was smoother than trotting and much faster—back to Cair Paravel.

"What in Aslan's name did this to her?" Caspian wondered aloud.


	7. Bloody Affairs

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ava, the Guardians, and Sinaaq. Nobody really owns Amarok.**

**Note: Ava Rydia is about 5'2", Prince Caspian (the Ben Barnes version) is about 6'1", and Sinaaq is about 6'1". Just in case you were wondering. Also, many different sources claim giants to be different heights. Some say that they are over nine feet high, while others say they are only about seven feet high. For the purposes of this story, we'll say that the giants Sinaaq lived with were only seven feet high.**

**Note: Experiments with blood transfusions didn't happen until the 17****th**** century, but I tried to work it into the story the best way I could. Most of those attempts killed the patient because people did not yet know of blood types. However, attempts on animals were successful. In order for a primitive blood transfusion to work the donor would have to be type O-negative or the receiver would have to be type AB-positive, which is more likely than randomly getting two people with the same blood type. Yarrow, mint, witch hazel, vinegar, and Myrrh were all used in medieval times to sterilize wounds. A fleam is a long, narrow blade (that looks very much like a needle) that was used for blood-letting in medieval times. Before there was plastic or rubber, medical tubing was made of metal.**

* * *

Sinaaq was sitting in his cell—because he obviously couldn't go out for a stroll—growing quite bored. He was usually a very patient man, but being inside a cell for over a day, without anything to stare at but stone walls, did become maddening after a while. Still, Sinaaq had to admit that Narnia kept their dungeons better than most places—how he knew that, he would never tell. The straw that covered the floor was changed by a servant regularly while a guard stood watch and he was given one scratchy wool blanket for bedding. The walls had been made quite well, so they remained dry and didn't let in a draft. It was more than most criminals deserved. Sinaaq was thankful that Narnia had no death penalty. Under any other circumstances, he would say it was stupid of them, but for his sake he was glad for it. It's not that he was afraid to die, he sometimes welcomed the idea, but he had to stay alive for a reason.

If he died, Amarok would be freed from his fleshy prison and able to possess any creature he chose once more. That was how he had slaughtered Sinaaq's village when he was a boy. By a stroke of luck, Sinaaq had managed to escape him, and the spirits decreed that Amarok would be trapped inside the last animal he possessed until Sinaaq died. This animal just happened to be a wolf.

Sinaaq was lost in thought when he heard someone approaching his cell. The footsteps were heavier than Queen Ava's and attached to someone with a longer stride, someone taller. He sighed in resignation; it must be time for his trial. He stood up straight, his feet planted shoulder-width apart, his hands clasped in behind his back, his posture perfect, ready to face his sentence. What he was not expecting, was for his visitor to be King Caspian X. Sinaaq hid his surprise and scrutinized the young king. He had come to him unarmed and without chains with which to transport him, so why was he here? Sinaaq was the same height as the king and was able to look directly at him without tilting his head. The two men stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak.

"You are the one they call Sinaaq, yes?" the king asked in a thick, Telmarine accent.

"Do you have anyone else in your dungeons at this time?" Sinaaq asked.

"No," the king replied.

"Then yes, I am Sinaaq." The king gave him a confused look.

"What if I had said yes?" he asked.

"It would have made your question less stupid," Sinaaq replied bluntly. King Caspian looked taken aback for a moment, but then nodded.

"Fair enough," he said. "Do you know why I am here, Sinaaq?" Sinaaq shrugged.

"You tell me," he replied.

"I am here because Queen Ava has been attacked," the king said. Sinaaq's brow furrowed.

"And what does that have to do with me? I didn't attack her, obviously," he responded, gesturing to his surroundings.

"I know that. I do not know what attacked her or why, but as she slips in and out of consciousness, she keeps mentioning _your_ name. I've come here for answers. I want to know who you are and where you come from and what in Aslan's name may have followed you here. And I'm not leaving until you tell me," King Caspian said. Sinaaq stared at him, his face unchanging.

"Narnians don't strike me as the type to torture their prisoners. Doesn't matter, I can cope with torture. There is no way on Aslan's green earth that you can make me tell you anything," Sinaaq replied.

"What if I beg you to help?" the king asked. Sinaaq stared at him.

"You would stoop that low? You would beg for help from a criminal?" he asked, disbelieving. As if to emphasize his point, King Caspian dropped to his knees in front of Sinaaq.

"Please, Ava is like a sister to me. She's the only person I have left who is like family. She seems to be dying, and we cannot figure out why. If you have an answer, please tell me." Sinaaq stared down at the young king, impressed by his devotion to the queen. However, having the king on his knees in front of him felt a little awkward.

"Okay, I will cooperate with you if you _please_ get up off your knees," Sinaaq replied. The king stood up at once. "That's better, now who found the queen after she was attacked?"

"I did. I heard her blow Queen Susan's horn," King Caspian replied. Sinaaq wanted to ask what Queen Susan's horn was, but decided to save it for another time.

"When you found her, what did her wounds look like?" Sinaaq asked.

"Well, there was too much blood to really get a good look at them, but she had hit her head on a tree root and her left shoulder looked like it had been chewed up by a large animal. I gave her a drop of Queen Lucy's cordial and her wounds healed, but she'd already lost so much blood." Sinaaq stroked his goatee in thought.

"How long has she been able to stay awake?" he asked.

"Mere minutes at a time, and she cannot speak coherently," the king answered.

"Have you been able to understand anything she's said?" Sinaaq asked.

"She mumbled something that sounded like 'I'm a rock', but—"

"Amarok?" Sinaaq interrupted, his blood chilling.

"Yes! That's it! She mentioned something about Amarok, though I have no clue what it is, and she mentioned you."

"I know what it is—it's the angry spirit that I've been hunting for the last decade or so. Amarok used to possess any creature he wished, using the body to slaughter anyone and anything in his wake. The last time, he chose to possess a large mountain wolf and slaughter my whole village. You would think that one wolf could not decimate a village full of giants, but he managed," Sinaaq explained, clenching his fists as his past came back to haunt him.

"You're a giant?" King Caspian asked incredulously.

"Not that I am aware of. I know nothing of my lineage only that I was found by the giants who raised me. The giants that Amarok murdered," Sinaaq replied.

"Oh, my condolences," King Caspian mumbled. Sinaaq waved a hand dismissively.

"If Amarok is here in Narnia, it is to hunt me down and kill me. The last time we met, I escaped him, and the spirits decreed that he would be trapped inside his fleshy prison until I died. We've been chasing each other's tails for years. The last time I saw him, I was very young, so I do not remember what he looks like. Every time I think I've found him, I end up making another mistake."

"So _that's_ why you were killing the talking wolves. You were looking for the wolf that killed your family," King Caspian said, nodding his head in understanding.

"I hardly doubt the talking wolves around here will accept that excuse, but yes, that is why."

"We can worry about that later, right now, I want you to come with me," the king said, taking out a key and reaching for Sinaaq's shackles.

"Where are we going?" Sinaaq asked.

"To the infirmary to wait for Queen Ava to awake," the king answered as he began unlocking Sinaaq's shackles.

* * *

Caspian and Sinaaq—who now had his boots and his undershirt and tunic back—entered the infirmary and went straight to the only occupied bed there was—the one that held Queen Ava. As they drew nearer to her, Sinaaq was able to scrutinize her better and was amazed to see absolutely nothing physically wrong with her. Her ivory skin had a more unhealthy pallor to it than usual, but aside from that, she merely appeared to be sleeping. The physician—a female Night Elf druid—had removed her clothing and dressed her in a simple chemise.

"Any change?" Caspian asked as they approached Ava's bed. The physician shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty," she answered, her eyes briefly flickering to Sinaaq. She seemed to undress him with her eyes for a moment before quickly turning her attention back to Caspian. Sinaaq smirked and felt his ego swell a bit.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Caspian asked with an air of desperation in his voice.

"The problem is blood loss. I have done studies on the subject of blood, and it seems to me that the average human adult—size depending—has ten pints of blood in their body. Someone Queen Ava's size will have less. She lost enough blood to make her unconscious, which, according to my experiments, is usually about three pints," the physician explained. Sinaaq didn't want to know what her experiments entailed and, from the look on Caspian's face, he didn't want to know either.

"So what happens now?" Sinaaq asked.

"Well, I have done experiments with transferring blood from one subject to another, but it's _very_ risky. I have only tried it on dumb animals within the same species, and it was usually successful. However, I do not know if it will work on our beloved queen. There is a possibility that it will worsen her condition," the physician answered. Sinaaq and Caspian looked at each other for a moment; they both seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Is there any other option?" Sinaaq asked, turning back to the elf. She shook her head grimly. Sinaaq sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked to Caspian.

"What are you willing to do to save her?" he asked.

"Whatever it takes," Caspian answered. Sinaaq turned to the physician.

"We are willing to take the risk if there is a chance it may save her," he said. He didn't know where the "we" came from, but he didn't bother to correct himself.

"I am going to need someone to take blood from," the physician said, staring at the two men. There was no one else in the room. Sinaaq scrutinized Caspian. Although they were the same height, Caspian was leaner in build, whereas Sinaaq was more muscular. It was obvious that Caspian weighed less and would have less blood to give. Sinaaq turned back to the physician.

"I shall do it. I have more blood to give and I do not have a country to rule." Caspian stared at him as if he were crazy.

"Sinaaq, if you die, Amarok shall break free!" Sinaaq nodded.

"I know this. I'm not going to die," he said with resolve in his voice.

"You don't know that," Caspian pointed out. He paused, and then added, "Why are you willing to take a risk for a queen you do not know?" Sinaaq chuckled morosely and shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but I am doing this nevertheless." Caspian stared at him for a moment, and then nodded. Sinaaq turned to the physician.

"Alright, let us get this over with." The physician nodded and started reaching into cabinets and flitting about the room.

She sat something that resembled a coat rack next to the head of the queen's bed and turned back to the wooden table next to her.

"Hold out your arm," she commanded Sinaaq as she turned around; a glass bottle, which was attached to a long metal tube, which had a fleam attached to the end of it, was in her hands. She set it down on the bedside table and grabbed a bottle from her work table. Sinaaq squinted and scrutinized the loopy handwriting on the bottle label—it was a mixture of vinegar, witch hazel, yarrow, mint, and Myrrh. She took the stopper out of the bottle and grabbed a rag from the table, putting the rag under Sinaaq's arm as she began to pour a bit of the mixture over the bend in his elbow. It tingled a bit and smelled funny. The physician replaced the stopper in the bottled and returned it to the work table. She then grabbed a nearby candle and began sterilizing the fleam.

"Mind telling me how this thing works?" Sinaaq asked.

"I will insert the fleam into your arm where I can see your veins. If we are lucky, I shall hit the vein and blood will flow into the hollow, metal tube that I have attached to the fleam and into the glass bottle. It may help speed up the blood flow if you clench and unclench your fist," the physician explained. Sinaaq paled a bit, but otherwise remained stoic.

The physician grabbed a rag and tied it tightly around Sinaaq's bicep just above the bend in his elbow. She flicked the bend in his elbow a few times and watched as his veins puckered up.

"This should be easy, your fair complexion is working in your favor and I can see your veins quite clearly," she said, readying the fleam. Sinaaq took a calming breath and watched as the physician stuck the fleam into his arm. Immediately, blood started flowing into the glass bottle. Sinaaq started to clench and unclench his fist to speed things along. After several minutes had passed, the bottle was full and the physician expertly replaced it with an empty one. Halfway through the second bottle, Sinaaq was feeling very tired. At last, the second bottle was full.

"This should be enough to heal her," the physician said, removing the fleam from his arm and taking the rag around his bicep, using it to wrap up his elbow. Sinaaq and Caspian watched as the physician prepared Ava's arm the same way she did Sinaaq's and inserted the fleam, then tied it in place with a leather strap. She then took the bottle of blood and rested it on the hooks of the "coatrack" so that the blood would flow out of it and into Ava's body.

"So what do we do now?" Caspian asked.

"Now we wait for a miracle. If either of you pray, I suggest you start doing it," the physician replied. Caspian looked to Sinaaq gratefully.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. Consider yourself a free man." Sinaaq smirked.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, but I think you will have a hard time getting the queen to accept that when she awakes." Caspian chuckled.

"She will accept it once I tell her everything," he said. Sinaaq glanced out the window; the weather seemed to be relatively decent outside today. He turned back to Caspian.

"Well, since I am a free man, I think I'll go take a stroll outside. Find me if she awakes?" has said.

"Of course. If you need anything, just ask one of the servants and it shall be provided for you," Caspian replied, turning his gaze back to Queen Ava.

Sinaaq nodded and stood up, but as soon as he did so, the room spun and his knees felt too weak to hold him up. He barely comprehended the physician and Caspian easing him into another bed before he passed out.


	8. Death and Rebirth

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ava and the Guardians.**

* * *

When Sinaaq began to wake up, he was vaguely aware that he was being watched. As his memory returned to him, he realized he had no weapons on him, hopefully he wouldn't need them. He opened his eyes slowly and was greeted by the face of none other than Queen Ava, awake and rosy-cheeked and smiling down at him. Smiling…at him? She must have still been sick.

"It's about time you woke up, I was getting bored," she said, giggling. Sinaaq stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you ill, Your Majesty?" he asked, sitting up on the bed. He noticed that the queen was still in her chemise and there was a bandage on her left arm where the fleam had been inserted. She smiled.

"Not at all. As a matter of fact, that blood transfusion you gave me has fixed me right up, among other things," Queen Ava responded. Sinaaq gave her a questioning look.

"Among other things?" he asked, puzzled. The queen looked down at her lap and started to fiddle with her chemise.

"Never mind, forget I asked," Sinaaq said. At this, the queen turned her gaze back to him and stopped her fidgeting. There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

"I apologize for how I treated you the last time we spoke, Your Majesty. It was uncalled for," Sinaaq said suddenly. The queen's lips turned up at the corners.

"You're forgiven. And I prefer to be called Ava," she said simply. Sinaaq was quiet. He couldn't take his eyes off her face. He drank in every little detail. He noticed her lips pucker ever so slightly, right before she spoke.

"Caspian told me everything. Why didn't you tell me when I first came to you?"

"I'm not a very open person. I don't trust most people," Sinaaq replied. Ava nodded in understanding.

"I see," she said. Sinaaq looked up her, his blue eyes locking with her grey ones.

"Would it have made a difference?" he asked earnestly.

"Well, you'll have to make peace with the wolves; that, I cannot help you with. However, it would have saved you from a knee to certain…ahem…areas and the title of a murderer. The latter having been removed today," Ava answered with a smirk.

"That is true," Sinaaq agreed, smirking back at her. "You know, you could always make it up to me," he added, his smirk growing. Ava raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really? And how would I do that?" she asked. Sinaaq tilted his head to his right and pointed to his cheek.

"Don't you think you've had enough kisses?" Ava asked flatly.

"I could never get enough kisses from a gorgeous woman. And I want one that you've given me willingly," Sinaaq replied, smirking. Ava rolled her eyes, but leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Just as her lips were about to touch his cheek, Sinaaq turned his head, resulting in a kiss on the lips instead. This time, he didn't hold her there, so he was surprised when she didn't immediately pull away, but instead gave him the kiss. When they parted, her cheeks were flushed bright pink. Neither of them said anything for a long time; they just sat there in awkward silence. Ava looked out the window and, noticing that the sun was shining, turned back to Sinaaq and smiled.

"Since we're both feeling better, why don't we go outside and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts?" Ava asked. Sinaaq sat up straighter and stretched.

"That sounds like a plan. What did you have in mind?" he replied. Ava stood up and walked to the door. She turned back to him with a smirk.

"Meet me in the stables in twenty minutes." With that, she was out the door, leaving Sinaaq to wonder—and worry—about what she was planning.

* * *

Sinaaq, who always made it a priority to be at places on time, had arrived at the stables early and was waiting patiently for Ava. He dare not enter the stables, for he'd had bad experiences with horses in the past. He sighed, his patience slowly waning; apparently, Miss Ava was not quite as obsessive about being on time. A large clock that was built into one tower of the castle told him she was five minutes late. He cracked his knuckles and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the stable wall. He shivered slightly; he was used to the cold, but he never did like it much and he didn't have his fur cloak to keep him warm. Although the sun was out, it was cold enough for a few remaining snow drifts to survive.

At last, his senses were alerted by the sound of slow, tentative footsteps coming from around the corner of the stable. Sinaaq guessed the size and weight of the person and figured it was Ava. If she was trying to sneak up on him, she wasn't very good at it. A twig snapped, followed by a few curses.

"Damn it!" Ava hissed quietly; she knew there was no way to sneak up on him now. Sinaaq smirked and turned his head in her direction just in time to see her appear around the corner.

Apparently, she had known it was going to be cold, as she was wearing many layers, which must have been why she was late. The outermost layer being a sleeveless, navy blue, knee-length ranging coat. The second being a dark purple tunic, which was slightly longer than the ranging coat, and had flowing, elbow length sleeves. The first layer, for the utmost warmth was something long-sleeved and beige with matching beige leggings. A beige sash wrapped around her middle, making her curves noticeable and her hair was twisted into a bun. Much to Sinaaq's dismay, there were brown riding boots on her feet—that could only mean one thing.

"So, have you ever ridden a horse before?" Ava asked cheerfully. She seemed to have more pep now than Sinaaq had seen in her before. She was quite a puzzling woman.

"Unfortunately yes," Sinaaq replied. Ava giggled at his less-than-thrilled demeanor.

"Unfortunately? You're kidding! Horseback riding is one of the best things I can think of to pass the time," she said, pulling a pair of black, calf's hide gloves out of her pocket and slid them on.

"Not when the horse seems perfectly fine, then takes off with you the second you get on its back," Sinaaq replied, grimacing at the memory. Ava bit her lip and tried not to giggle at the image that appeared in her mind as she slid open the stable door.

"Will you follow me or would you rather wait outside?" she asked him. Sinaaq would have preferred to wait outside, but he couldn't resist the sparkle that Ava's grey eyes held.

"I…will follow you," he answered reluctantly. Ava grinned and walked inside, gesturing for him to accompany her. Sinaaq ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Sinaaq followed Ava into the stable to a stall that held a short, but well-built, black horse. There was no question about his gender, even if the plaque on the door hadn't said _Dorchadas_. Ava went to a small room and came back carrying a saddle blanket, saddle, girth, and bridle—all of the best quality, monogrammed, and in her colors (shades of purple, blue, and black). She gently set the tack on the floor next to the door of the stall.

"Whew, that saddle is heavy," she said, cracking her knuckles and wrists. "Do you want to stay out here, or come in and help me tack Dorchadas up?" Sinaaq shrugged.

"I'll help you if you like." Again, Ava grinned and motioned for him to pick up the saddle and bring it with him. She slid open the door to the stall and carried in the blanket, closing the door behind Sinaaq. The horse turned to look at them.

"Hello, Dorchadas. That's a good boy," Ava cooed softly, she looked at Sinaaq. "It's always good to talk to the horse as you enter the stall so you don't startle them."

"I don't think we have to worry about you startling anyone. Your sneaking skills are severely lacking," Sinaaq said, smirking. Ava stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to the horse.

"All the horses are groomed several times a day, so we can go ahead and tack him up," she said, throwing the blanket onto the horse's back and adjusting it.

She turned and grabbed the saddle from Sinaaq, throwing it over the horse's back and sliding it into place, straightening it as she went and adjusting the blanket underneath so that it didn't pull his mane. Sinaaq paid attention to every little thing she did, memorizing the process. Ava retrieved the girth and buckled it to one side of the saddle, walked around to the other side of the horse, reached under its belly and retrieved the girth, then buckled it to the other side of the saddle. She adjusted it until it was tight enough, and then went to retrieve the bridle. As she turned around, Sinaaq already had the bridle in his hand, holding it out to her. Ava looked surprised then grabbed the bridle from his hand, mumbling a thank you.

She coaxed the horse to open its mouth, and then slid the bit in behind its teeth. She carefully tucked the bridle over its ears, strapped everything in place, and adjusted the noseband. Sinaaq noticed that, as Ava moved around the animal, she would rest her hand on it or trail her fingertips across it as she moved. He guessed that she was letting the horse know where she was at all times to prevent startling him. She grabbed the reins and turned to Sinaaq.

"He's all tacked up and ready to go," she said. She slid open the door, ushering Sinaaq out ahead of her. She led the horse out of the stall and slid the door closed behind them, then led them out of the stables and stopped. She turned to Sinaaq.

"I thought, since you have not had a good riding experience, that you would prefer to ride with me instead of having your own horse." Sinaaq looked from Ava to the horse and back.

"You want me to ride it?" he asked incredulously. Ava giggled.

"Of course! Why else would I have brought you here? I want you to accompany me on a ride," she answered. Sinaaq coughed a bit and avoided eye contact. He glanced up at the horse; it seemed mildly impatient to get going, but otherwise couldn't have cared less about Sinaaq. Maybe this wouldn't be too terrible. Then there was the idea of being so close to Ava. Yes, he'd tricked a couple of kisses out of her, but he'd never held her or sat so close to her. He looked at her. She was staring up at him with her head slightly tilted, as if she was wondering what he was thinking about. Sinaaq felt himself losing his resolve.

"Alright. Show me what I have to do," he said. Ava smiled.

"For starters, help me get on," she said. Sinaaq blinked and shook his head, attempting to clear away a few choice thoughts.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked. Ava stared at him and pointed to the saddle.

"The _horse_. Help me get on the horse. I'm too short to manage without a step stool or the aid of another person. I just need you to give me a boost," Ava said.

"Oh! Yes, of course," Sinaaq replied, still trying to remain composed.

"Just lace your fingers and lift up when I tell you," Ava said. Sinaaq bent down and laced his fingers together for her to step in. She put her left foot in the stirrup and put her right foot in Sinaaq's hands, holding onto the horse's neck and the saddle.

"Okay, now lift!" she commanded. Sinaaq lifted her up until she was able to swing her right leg over the horse and put her foot in the stirrup on the right side. She grabbed the reins and looked down at him.

"Alright, now it's your turn. I'll remove my foot from the stirrup and you just do what I did, without someone lifting you of course," she instructed. Sinaaq looked at her then at the horse doubtfully, but did as he was told anyway. _Imagine that. Me, doing what I'm told._

Sinaaq put his foot in the stirrup, holding onto the saddle—and trying not to put his hand on Ava's leg while doing so—and swinging his leg over. It proved to be easier than he thought and soon, he was in the saddle right behind Ava. From here, he could smell her. He inhaled deeply, trying to be discreet about it; she smelled like apricots and honey. He felt a little creepy for sniffing her hair, but he couldn't resist. She was so enticing. If she wasn't, he would not have been up on the back of a horse right now. He smirked and leaned close to her ear.

"Tell me, princess, are you quite used to getting everything you want?" he asked. He felt her shiver against him. She turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"This may come as a shock to you, but I wasn't always a queen. And, despite what everyone else may tell you, royalty do not always get what they want either," she answered.

"Fair enough," Sinaaq responded. Ava turned away from him and tightened the reins.

"Now I'm going to start us off at a walk so you don't get nervous, then I'll have Dorchadas trot, then canter. You may want to hold on to my waist," she said. Sinaaq did as he was told, making sure he kept his hands _exactly_ at her waist.

Ava clicked her tongue and dug her heels into the horse's sides, sending them off at a walk. It startled Sinaaq for a moment, making him grip her a little more firmly as he tried to get used to the sway of the horse. They rode through the courtyard at a walk for quite a while in silence. Sinaaq loosened up began to enjoy the ride, when it dawned on him that he had no idea where Ava was taking him.

"Pray tell, where are we going? With Amarok lurking around Narnia, surely you're not thinking of going too far?" Sinaaq asked. Ava smirked.

"You'll see soon enough," she answered. She clicked her tongue and dug her heels into the horse's sides again, spurring him into a trot. The trot was much bouncier than Sinaaq liked, and he did not like the feeling of slamming down onto the saddle over and over again. He grimaced.

"Could we…please…find a more…_comfortable_…speed?" Sinaaq asked as they bounced along. Ava giggled.

"As you wish. You may want to hold on tighter," she replied. She leaned forward in the saddle, but arched her back so that she was still sitting more or less straight up.

Sinaaq swallowed hard and tried to forget about it. Ava continued to hold the reins, but grabbed fistfuls of Dorchadas' mane and rested her hands on his neck. Sinaaq leaned forward with her and gripped her waist. As soon as Ava clicked her tongue and kicked Dorchadas' sides, he sped up into a canter. Sinaaq held on for dear life. It felt much more comfortable than trotting, but it also felt like flying. He peered over Ava's shoulder and saw the widest grin he'd ever seen on her face. She appeared to be in her element.

They rode out of one of Cair Paravel's back gates and continued until the Eastern Sea was in sight. When they reached the beach, Ava sat down and leaned back in the saddle, slowing Dorchadas to a trot, then a walk, then a halt. She turned to look at Sinaaq over her shoulder and grinned.

"You can let go now," she said, giggling. Sinaaq realized that his hands were still tightly gripping her waist and immediately let go.

"My apologies," he said. Ava giggled.

"Tis quite alright. Most people respond that way their first time cantering," she said. She swung her right leg over the horse's back, narrowly avoiding Sinaaq, and slid off. She looked up at him expectantly.

"Are you going to stay up there all day?" she asked.

"What are we doing here?" he responded. Ava shrugged.

"Relaxing. Enjoying nature whilst nature is being enjoyable," she answered.

"Ah, I see," Sinaaq said, sliding off of the horse.

Ava tethered the reins to a large piece of driftwood, and then started walking along the shore, stretching a bit from time to time to ease the stiffness from riding. Sinaaq sat in the sand, which was surprisingly warm, watching her. He catalogued every move she made and every detail in his mind. She appeared to be thinking about something. Being a queen, she must have had many things to think about. Sinaaq observed her facial expressions as they changed, seeming quite troubled, but struggling to appear calm. When Ava grew tired of walking, she came and plopped down beside Sinaaq, staring out at the horizon.

Sinaaq and Ava sat in silence for the longest time. It seemed like the most boring thing in the world to do, but it was actually rather enjoyable.

"So," Ava finally said, breaking the silence, "do you have a family, Sinaaq?" The question caught Sinaaq off guard, but he recovered, pursing his lips.

"No, not anymore. I was what you might think of as an outcast among my people. Marrying and settling down would have been out of the question for me. It doesn't really matter now anyway; Amarok killed everyone I knew. I've never had time for things like friends or courting women; my time has been spent hunting," Sinaaq replied, staring out at the sea. Ava frowned.

"For someone who has never courted anyone, you are quite a flirt," she pointed out. Sinaaq smirked.

"Oh, I've had my fair share of women. I've just never _courted_ any of them." Ava looked down at her hands, her cheeks a bit pink.

"I see. So you're a womanizer then." It wasn't a question.

"Of sorts, yes. My experiences are limited to prostitutes," Sinaaq said. Ava's cheeks grew redder.

"Oh…" she trailed off. Sinaaq looked at her.

"And what of you? Is there a family in your life?" Ava snorted.

"No. I left my family at a young age. I was a bit of a black sheep. The only woman in the family who insisted on riding horses and practicing archery. I exchange letters with them every now and then, but they still don't approve of my choice to come to Cair Paravel city. I was searching for a knight—any knight—who would take on a page or a squire, when Caspian found me. He was searching for the last remains of the Guardian bloodline. He found my family, and my family told him where I had gone. Before I knew it, he'd made me queen. I didn't argue. It gave me more freedom than I'd had before. And it gave me the power to make a difference here in Narnia. Still, it's not something I planned on." Sinaaq listened intently as Ava explained.

"So what? No suitors pining for your hand? No children?" Sinaaq asked, reclining back on his elbows and looking up at the queen. Ava snorted again.

"Not a chance," she replied.

"Why not?" Sinaaq pressed. Ava sighed.

"Because all the men I meet are the same. Caspian is the only male I know who doesn't judge me for who I am or think me to be a helpless woman who should stay in the kitchen, but he is merely a brother in my eyes. Besides, most men do not want a mad woman for a wife," Ava explained, a twinge of bitterness in her voice, followed by a small cough. Sinaaq's brow furrowed.

"A mad woman? Why do you think yourself mad?" he asked.

"I do not wish," Ava began to cough again, this time more violently, "to speak of it, Sinaaq." Sinaaq nodded, then took note that her coughing, which had just started, was growing steadily worse.

"Maybe we should go back and get you out of the cold," he said. Ava waved her hand dismissively as she coughed.

"No, I'm alright. Really, I'm fine. It's just a tickle in my throat," she said. She cleared her throat, leaning her head forward and thumping her chest a couple of times.

"Alright then," Sinaaq relented, though he kept an even closer watch on her. For a moment, they were both silent. "So….you mentioned a Guardian bloodline…what is a Guardian?" Sinaaq asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Ava peeked up at him.

"It's a bit of a long story, I'm afraid," she replied. Sinaaq shrugged.

"I don't know about you, Highness, but I have plenty of time. All the time in the world, in fact," he said. Ava looked at him, her brow furrowing.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"See, that's the thing, Amarok cannot be free of his fleshy prison until I die, because he failed to kill me all those years ago. However, I cannot die until I kill Amarok," Sinaaq explained. Ava's eyes rolled up toward the sky as she tried to mull this new information out in her head. She looked back at him.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," she said. Sinaaq chuckled.

"I can be _killed_, yes, but every day since I turned eighteen, my aging has slowed to a crawl, then finally stopped altogether. I cannot fall ill or die of any natural cause. That is why Amarok has taken to hunting me down; waiting around for me to die will get him nowhere," Sinaaq explained. Ava nodded in understanding.

"So just how old _are_ you?" she asked, her curiosity burning. Sinaaq smirked.

"Old enough to know better, too young to care" he replied. Ava snorted, rolling her eyes a bit. The two were silent for a moment.

"So…about those Guardians?" Sinaaq asked.

"Ah yes, the Guardians of Narnia. Well, you see…" Ava launched into the history of the Guardians while Sinaaq listened intently. He took note of every expression and every wave of her hands as she spoke. It took about an hour, but at last, the entire story of the Guardians was told.

"So you see my predicament?" Ava said as she finished, coughing a little. Sinaaq exhaled loudly.

"Yes. It is quite the predicament. So why are we here, loafing about on the sand, while the world is burning?" he asked. Ava looked down, chewing on her bottom lip. Sinaaq noted that her bottom lip was much pinker in color than her top lip and guessed that it came from years of chewing on it.

"I don't know. I usually come here to think. Caspian says we should go about our lives while we try to figure things out,"

"I agree, best not panic in a crisis," Sinaaq said.

"I know, but it's quite difficult. I have no idea how much," she started to cough again, "time Narnia has left. And Caspian wants to continue with Narnia's annual Samonios masquerade ball," another cough. Sinaaq sat up and stared at her intently. Ava hacked and coughed for several moments before taking a deep breath. She cradled her head in her hands.

"I don't feel so well," Ava said with a groan. Sinaaq began to worry. She had been perfectly fine earlier. Could it be that her body was starting to reject the transfusion?

"Here, let's get back to the castle," Sinaaq said, wrapping his arms around her tiny body and helping her to stand. As he touched her, he noticed how warm she felt. He put his hand on the back of her neck and immediately took it away. She definitely had a fever, which explained why her body was trembling so badly. How had he not noticed these things earlier? Had they just started? Ava leaned her head against Sinaaq's chest—which surprised him—and curled her arms around herself.

"I feel awful," she mumbled incoherently.

"Okay, Ava, I want you to tell me _exactly_ how you feel," Sinaaq commanded, pulling her closer to him. He discreetly put his hand on her neck, trying to check her pulse. When he found it, he was shocked to find that it was abnormally accelerated. Had it been like that all day? That would explain why her cheeks had been so flushed.

"I feel sick to my stomach. My chest hurts. My back hurts. And my arm is burning," Ava answered, her voice sounding much like that of a small child's. Sinaaq's blood ran cold.

"Which arm is burning?" he asked fearfully.

"This one," Ava said, holding up the arm that had been used to transfer blood into her body. Sinaaq felt the blood drain from his face. He noticed that he could hear wheezing as Ava breathed. He cradled her face in his hands and titled her head up so he could see her face. What he saw nearly made his heart stop. Blood had begun to trickle out of her nose at a rapid pace. Ava opened her eyes groggily and saw his expression, but she took no notice of the blood that flowed down her lips. Sinaaq saw her gaze move to his chest, where a huge bloodstain was left.

"Sinaaq…your shirt…" Ava trailed off as her eyes rolled back in her head and her body went limp.

* * *

Sinaaq had raced Ava back to the palace on Dorchadas as fast as he could get the horse to move, holding onto her limp body for dear life. He'd spared no time putting the horse back in the stables, instead he handed him off to a groom and carried Ava, who was still bleeding, into the castle, trying not to jostle her too much as he ran. He skipped going to Caspian and took her straight to the infirmary. He looked around, but there was no one there. He laid Ava out on a bed and began removing her clothing until she was in her beige undershirt and leggings. He tried to remain calm, but the truth was he had absolutely no idea what to do in this sort of situation.

Sinaaq grabbed a rag and began to clean away the blood, but it was no use. It just kept coming and coming. He held the rag under her nose until it was soaked through with her blood, but he was too afraid to move to retrieve a new one. He desperately wished he knew where the doctor was.

"Somebody help!" he cried at the top of his lungs, hoping beyond hope that someone would hear him. He tried to shake Ava awake.

"Ava wake up, _please_. Don't do this," he whispered. After moments of trying and failing to rouse her from her unconsciousness, Sinaaq noticed that the bleeding had stopped. A flicker of hope danced through him—maybe she was going to be alright? Sinaaq placed his head to her torso in the center of her chest, near her ribcage. He listened…and listened…and listened. Nothing. Her heart had stopped. Sinaaq looked at her face and felt his eyes stinging. Death was never an easy thing to witness, but for some reason, her death was not something he could accept.

Sinaaq became aware of running footsteps and sat up, looking towards the doorway. Caspian and the doctor appeared, shock registering on their faces as soon as they took in the scene.

"Oh Aslan. Is she…?" Caspian couldn't say the words.

"Dead," Sinaaq finished, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He looked away in shame. He refused to let anyone see him cry, even now. Caspian made his way to the bed and sat down beside Ava's body. Once the reality of it all sank in, he sobbed, bringing one of Ava's hands to his lips and kissing it softly. Sinaaq couldn't take it anymore and made a hasty exit from the room. He had no idea where he was going, but he wanted to be alone.

* * *

Ava felt warm and safe, wherever she was. She looked around, but she saw nothing but darkness. She wasn't even sure if she had a body anymore.

"Am I dead?" she wondered aloud. A warm chuckle sounded around her.

"Yes, young queen. You are dead," Aslan said. Ava couldn't see him. In fact, she couldn't see anything but bright light, but she knew it was Aslan.

"Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," she repeated. Though she was surprisingly calm, she couldn't stop thinking about Caspian, left behind.

"Do not fret, dear one, for it is not your time," Aslan said. Ava tried to focus on the light, but it was much too bright to do so.

"What do you mean, Aslan?" she asked quizzically. Aslan chuckled. Suddenly, she felt a warm breeze, as if Aslan's face was right in front of her, blowing his warm breath on her face.

"Awaken now, _Waker_, my world is in great peril and it will need you. This is just the calm before the storm," Aslan said.

The light dimmed until it was completely gone. Suddenly, Ava regained feeling in her body, bit by bit. She was _alive_. She had expected to feel like she'd been run over by a dozen horses, but instead, she felt good as new. Her body seemed to be tingling with a raw power she had never felt before. Her chest started to rise and fall with her breathing again.

Ava Rydia opened her eyes.


	9. Start of Something New

**Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing except Ava, Sinaaq, and the Guardians.**

**Please, **_**please**_**, **_**please**_** review! It only takes a minute.**

* * *

Everything was murky at first, though it didn't take long to figure out why. She was covered by a thin veil. Her eyes darted from side to side, but the veil made things difficult to make out. She twitched her fingers, making sure she could move them, before reaching a hand up and brushing the veil away from her face. She sat up slowly, taking in every detail of her surroundings as she did so. She was amazed to find that her vision was several times better. Before, she'd been steadily growing near-sighted and was having problems with archery. Now, as she surveyed the Great Hall, she could see every swirl in the marble and nearly every facet in the diamond ceiling.

She looked down at herself only to find that she had been clothed in a black, empire-waistline gown with silver trimming and laid on a pedestal that had been placed on the dais where the thrones usually were. Her hair, rather than being in its usual side-braid or bun, had been left down to cascade around down her shoulders to her hips, with honeysuckle flowers strewn through it. The veil that had covered her face had covered her entire body.

She climbed off of the pedestal and nearly fell on her face—were it not for her fast reflexes, that she didn't remember having, she would have—for her legs had not been used as of late. She managed to stand up straight and carefully ventured away from the pedestal, looking around more. Every pillar in the room had black fabric swirling around them from the ceiling to the base and the windows had been covered in black fabric as well, save for the large, stained glass window behind the pedestal.

Someone had prepared Ava's body, and the Great Hall, for a funeral. Ava began to feel panic rising in her body, starting in the pit of her stomach. How long had she been dead? All of sudden, one of the large doors to the entrance of the Great Hall opened. Ava froze where she stood as Trufflehunter entered the room with the Night Elf physician, who was carrying a tray of what appeared to be oils and herbs. They had been coming to attend to her body. The moment the two looked up and saw Ava, alive and standing before them, they too froze in their places; the physician, in her shock, dropped the tray. The only noise in the room was the shattering of glass bottles and the clatter of the tray to the floor. For the longest time, the room was silent as the dead—no pun intended.

"It can't be!" Trufflehunter exclaimed, barely above a whisper, breaking the silence. Ava managed a small smile and nodded.

"It is. I'm here. It's me," she answered softly. The physician came forward tentatively, stepping around the tray and shattered glass. Ava reached out her hand, allowing the physician to touch her. When she did, she immediately launched into a full-scale inspection of the young queen.

"This is impossible! I looked you over myself! You were _dead_! How is it that you are alive and seemingly healed now?" she asked incredulously. Ava smiled.

"Aslan." Trufflehunter and the physician both gasped.

"You saw Aslan!?" Trufflehunter asked. "What did he say? What was it like?" Ava put her hand up, stopping further questions.

"I promise I shall tell you later, but right now I need to know: how many days have passed since I…uh…died?" Ava asked, biting her lip anxiously. The elf and the badger glanced at each other, and then turned back to the queen. She stared at them intensely.

"_How long_?" she repeated.

"A few days," Trufflehunter mumbled. Ava's eyes widened.

"A few…days? Oh dear. … How many know of my death? What has happened while I've been…dead?" she asked, her panic rising. _I need my tonic_, she thought.

"Caspian has not told the rest of Narnia yet. He wanted to keep the funeral private—he remembered you never did like large crowds. The only one who knows, besides us and him of course, is Sinaaq," the physician answered. Ava inhaled sharply.

"Oh no, Sinaaq! Where is he? I need to see him!" she exclaimed.

"Well, Caspian gave him a room in the palace to stay in, but he's spent most of his time down at the beach," Trufflehunter replied.

"Yes, and taking much of the alcohol I use for treating wounds with him," the physician mumbled.

Without saying another word, Ava pushed by the two and ran out the door. She kept running, disregarding the fact that she was running faster than she normally could and the fact that she wasn't tripping over herself or running out of breath. She ran to the stables and, seeing that her horse was gone—most likely taken by Sinaaq—she quickly threw a saddle on one of the other horses, not wanting to spare the time putting all the tack on the horse, and cantered off the castle grounds to the beach.

Sure enough, Sinaaq was sitting in the sand, letting the surf wash over his legs, with a bottle of rum in one hand, mostly drained of its contents. Ava's horse was tethered to a piece of driftwood, looking rather bored. Ava hopped off of the horse she'd taken and tethered him next to Dorchadas. She took a moment to take in the disheveled appearance of Sinaaq and felt an unfamiliar twinge in her heart. Slowly, she approached him, coming at him from an angle so he may see her from his peripherals, so as not to startle the drunken fighter. When she was standing right next to him, having received no response, she spoke.

"Sinaaq?" the man looked up at her, his eyes glassy from tears and the effects of the booze. He snorted, chuckling bitterly. Ava's brow furrowed as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Not quite the reaction I was expecting," she mumbled.

"So now my mind has taken to torturing me with realistic images of her. How splendid," Sinaaq said bitterly, apparently talking to himself.

"Am I to understand that you think me to be a hallucination?" Ava asked, pursing her lips. She wasn't entirely surprised, merely disappointed, at Sinaaq's reaction to her liveliness.

"She even sounds like her," Sinaaq mused, staggering to his feet and staring at the small queen, scrutinizing her. Ava stared up him, willing him to sober up and realize she was alive. Sinaaq reached out and pushed a strand of hair out of her face, the way one might expect a lover would. Ava was surprised to feel a warm tingling spread throughout her body at the touch, but she suppressed it for the moment.

"Funny, you feel just like I imagine she would," Sinaaq said, his voice surprisingly clear for a drunken man. _He's imagined me?_ Ava wondered. She shook away her thoughts and grabbed Sinaaq's shoulders, forgetting for the time being how muscular they really were.

"Sinaaq, _listen to me_. You are _not_ hallucinating. This is _not_ your mind playing tricks on you. It's _me_! I'm _real_!" she said, trying to be firm with him. Sinaaq chuckled.

"_Ava_ never wore her hair down," he pointed out. Ava rolled her eyes.

"Aslan, you are a stubborn man!" she grumbled. She stood there for a moment, trying to think of a way to convince him she was real.

She looked up at him; his striking blue eyes stared down at her, watering little by little. She couldn't understand why her death grieved him. An idea came to her mind. Slowly, she moved one hand up to the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his soft hair. She rose to her tiptoes, at the same time pulling his head down to her, and kissed him. She was happy when he began to kiss her back fervently, and surprised that it made her happy. When they parted, both of them were flushed and breathing heavy. Ava stared up at him, but did not see the spark of recognition she hoped to see.

"Amazing…I did not realize my mind was capable of conjuring something so realistic," Sinaaq whispered. Ava hit her forehead in frustration.

"Ugh! What will it take to make you believe I'm _alive_, damn it!?" she exclaimed. She stopped, mid-rant, when another idea came to her. _I'm really sorry about this_. Without warning, she brought her knee up into his groin. Sinaaq made an _oof_ noise and doubled over in pain. Ava stood there, looking down at him, with her arms crossed. When Sinaaq looked back up at her he seemed to have sobered up a bit. He straightened up and looked at her carefully, his eyes boring into hers.

"It really _is_ you! But how is it possible?" he asked softly. Ava smiled, relieved that she didn't have to further convince him.

"Aslan did it. I'm not sure why, but he did," she answered. They stood for a moment, silently staring at each other, until Sinaaq realized what he was doing and stepped back, looking at anything but her. Ava frowned.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Everyone will want to see you. You should go back," he answered, his face unreadable. Ava tried to ignore the sting of his answer.

"What will you do?" she asked.

"I think I'll stay here for a while. I like to avoid sappy reunions," he said. His answer seemed more callous than she expected, though not unlike something he would say.

"Oh," Ava responded softly, doing a terrible job of hiding her disappointment, "Alright then. I suppose I shall see you later. Maybe at supper?" she said, a flicker of hope in her voice.

"Maybe," Sinaaq responded. Ava turned away and shuffled to the horse she'd borrowed—she would leave Dorchadas for Sinaaq—since he was familiar with him—trying to understand why she felt so glum all of sudden. She decided it was withdrawal from her tonic.

She rode away, leaving Sinaaq to process everything alone.

* * *

As predicted, Caspian was overjoyed to have Ava back and demanded that she tell him everything over a lavish dinner. He immediately sent the servants to work in the kitchen and asked that they break out the best dishes they owned (save for the wedding dishes). Ava thought it was all a bit much, especially when the only people who attended dinner in the palace regularly were Caspian, Reepicheep, Trufflehunter, and herself. Occasionally, the physician would join them; she most likely would tonight. She did not know whether Sinaaq would join them this evening. She never did like it when people made a big deal of things. Yes, coming back from the dead was a big deal, but it was something that she felt would be better served to be rejoiced over then forgotten about. It was one thing to be the center of attention for coronations and birthdays, but it was another thing to be the center of attention for coming back from the dead.

She had decided to relax with a hot bath beforehand. She'd been sitting in the water for so long that her skin was starting to wrinkle, but she still didn't feel relaxed. She sighed and looked down at the water, which had grown tepid about an hour ago. She continued to stare at it, wishing it was hot again. To her surprise, she felt the water begin to warm around her until it was too hot to sit in it. She clambered out of water quickly, staring at it in disbelief. Surely she was imagining things. But when she dipped her foot in the water to test it, she found it to be scalding hot. Ava ran a shaking hand through her wet hair. _I must be losing what is left of my sanity. Must be the after-effects of being dead._

She squeezed the excess water from her hair and padded into her bedroom to take her tonic. As she tipped the mouth of the vial over the silver spoon, she found that no liquid would come out. Her brow furrowed, she didn't remember running low, but then she hadn't been keeping track as well in the last month. She upended the bottle, her stomach twisting in a knot when only a tiny, opalescent drop splashed into the spoon. She stared at it, as if she couldn't believe that's all there was. She put the spoon in her mouth, savoring the drop of tonic the way a man savors a rain drop in the desert. She tried to remain calm as she replaced the empty vial and spoon to their proper places. She walked over to a gold cord that hung from the ceiling and pulled it. The cord would ring a bell in the servants' quarters. Every room had one. Within moments, there was a knock on the door. Ava crossed the room and opened it, seeing a faun—who she knew as Pan—standing there, awaiting orders.

"You rang, Your Majesty?" he asked. Ava smiled.

"Yes, could you send word to the local apothecary and tell her that Queen Ava needs her usual?" she asked. The servant obviously had no idea what "the usual" was, as it showed on his face.

"I will do so immediately, Your Majesty. Is there anything else you require?" he asked.

"No, thank you, that will be all, Pan," Ava answered.

"Very well then," the faun said, bowing his head in respect before clopping away.

Ava closed the door and leaned her forehead against the cool wood. She needed to dress for dinner, but right now, she was too busy trying not to panic. She didn't realize how much time had passed, until there was another knock on the door, startling her out of her reverie. She made sure her robe was closed all the way and opened the door. To her surprise, Sinaaq was standing there. She felt heat rise to her cheeks under his gaze and subconsciously pulled her robe tighter.

"Sinaaq, what a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit to my suite?" she asked coyly.

"Dinner has started and everyone was wondering where you were. I volunteered to retrieve you," he answered, smirking slightly. Ava felt confused by Sinaaq sudden change in attitude, but chose to keep her confusion to herself.

"Oh dear, my apologies. I was…reading and I…uh…dozed off," she replied. Sinaaq raised an eyebrow at her, suggesting he didn't buy her excuse, but he didn't push the subject.

"So will you be joining us?" he asked, his eyes straying to the collar of her robe. Ava was all too aware that she'd chosen to wear her blue satin robe, which clung to her still-damp body too much to be appropriate. She blushed more.

"Uh…yes, of course. Just give me a moment to change into something appropriate," she said.

"Alright, shall I let them know you will be joining us in a month?" he asked with a chuckle. Ava, without a better comeback, stuck her tongue out at him and closed the door. She rushed to her armoire to look for something appropriate to wear and settled on a simple, lavender gown with a square neckline and bell sleeves that hid fitted inner sleeves. She slid it on and quickly tied the laces in the back, then ran a brush through her hair and braided it. She slid on simple shoes and opened the door, surprised to see Sinaaq still waiting for her.

"I'm impressed, princess, that was much quicker than I expected," he said with a smirk. Ava raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why do you insist on calling me princess? That is incorrect," she said. Sinaaq's smirk grew.

"Because I can," he answered. Ava rolled her eyes. She closed the door to her suite and locked it behind her, then stashed the key in her bodice. She turned to Sinaaq, who was waiting patiently.

"You did not have to wait for me. Surely, you must be hungry," Ava said. Sinaaq smiled.

"It's the polite thing to do. And I thought you might like company as you make the painstakingly long walk to the Great Hall," he replied. Ava found it hard to meet his eyes. She looked up and Sinaaq held his elbow out to her.

"May I escort you, milady?" he asked with a smile. Ava nodded and put her slender hand in the crook of his arm and let him lead her to the Great Hall.

* * *

Dinner was a much more silent affair than Ava had expected. After Caspian had toasted to her health and welcomed her back, they'd settled down to the most lavish meal they'd had outside of a party. Every time Caspian opened his mouth to ask her what had happened he found himself distracted by Sinaaq. Ava was confused, for she had never seen Sinaaq that vocal around most people. He kept asking random questions about things she knew he could care less about. Whatever the reason, she was grateful for the distraction. She ate her food hastily and announced that she was retiring for the night. She tried to exit the room swiftly without appearing to be in a hurry.

Once she was out of the room, she sighed in relief and decided to head to the library for a bit of reading before bed. There was no rain tonight, so she decided to take the book she had chosen and read out on the balcony. As she was reading she heard a bloodcurdling howl pierce the night. All the hairs on the back of her neck rose and her blood ran cold. She stood up and ventured to the railing, looking out into the night. The terror coursing through her veins distracted her from noticing that her night vision was much better than it had been before. She looked towards he Eastern Sea and that's when she saw it. On the beach, silhouetted against the silvery light of the moon, was a large animal on all fours. Two glittering, silver eyes stared straight at her, even though she was far away.

Ava was frozen in place and couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried. As she stood there, fearing for her life despite the safety of the castle, it began to sleet. Though she was freezing, she couldn't move away from those eyes.

Suddenly, a large hand rested on her shoulder. Ava screamed bloody murder and whirled around to face her opponent only to see Sinaaq standing there, one hand up in surrender and the other clenched in a fist and placed conveniently in front of his crotch. Ava clutched her chest as if somehow that would slow her racing heart.

"Don't do that!" she exclaimed. "Next time you enter a room, ring a bell or stomp your feet or something to that effect!"

"My apologies, I just came to look for something to read," Sinaaq said, trying to refrain from smirking. He turned serious when he saw the fear in Ava's grey eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Ava's eyes flickered to the spot she had been fixated on before. Sinaaq followed her glance and saw nothing. He looked back down at her.

"There's nothing there now," he said. Ava whipped around and scanned the beach, becoming more and more panicked when she didn't see anything.

"You don't understand! I saw him! He-he was there! I—" Ava stammered, pointing to the beach. She was beginning to hyperventilate. Sinaaq grabbed her shoulders firmly and looked her in the eyes. He had never seen Ava be anything but composed. Even when she was angry with him, she had remained relatively calm about it. This was something completely new for him.

"Ava, listen, you need to _breathe_. You're going to faint if you don't," he said. Ava gasped, but could not manage to catch her breath. She panted.

"No, not like that. You need to take deep breaths. Come on, do it with me," he coaxed; she nodded and followed his instruction, inhaling deeply through her nose, holding it, and then exhaling slowly through her mouth. Sinaaq rubbed the flesh between her thumb and her index finger on one hand, pressing until it hurt. She flinched, but began to relax slowly. Slowly, he let go of her.

"Are you alright now?" he asked. Ava nodded, fidgeting with her braid.

"Now tell me, _calmly_, what did you see?" he asked. Ava looked in his eyes, her voice quivering as she spoke.

"Amarok." Sinaaq felt the blood drain from his face but he kept his visage impassive. He didn't want to frighten Ava further. He looked out towards the beach, but saw nothing. His brow furrowed. He also noticed that the sleeting had stopped. He closed the balcony doors and locked them. He turned to Ava.

"Don't worry about it now," he said. "You should probably get some rest."

"I do not know if I can rest after seeing him. Sinaaq, if he can take down a whole village of giants, the guards of Cair Paravel will be no match for him," Ava replied fearfully. Typically, she wasn't a helpless damsel, but against Amarok, she felt like a weak little girl.

"Yes, I know, but staying up all night worrying about it won't help either," Sinaaq pointed out.

"I may head to the sparring room and practice archery for a while," Ava said. At the mention of a sparring room, Sinaaq's interest piqued.

"Would you be opposed to me joining you?" he asked. Ava looked up at him and smiled.

"Of course not. I'll just need to change out of this gown," she answered. She was grateful that she didn't have to be alone.

"Alright," Sinaaq conceded, following her out of the library.

As they headed toward the east wing of the castle, they conversed in trivial things to keep things light. Ava revealed that the castle was, in fact, _not_ the original castle Cair Paravel. The original had been destroyed many years ago during the siege of Caspian I. When Caspian X came into power, he insisted on rebuilding the palace to its former glory. He had been lucky enough to find the old blueprints and had made it almost exactly like the original, save for the placement of the secret treasure room, which held many of the possessions of the kings and queens of old. This included the gifts from Father Christmas that were not being used.

"Sadly, no one has been able to find the treasure room. Not even Caspian or me. Tis a shame. I heard that the gifts Father Christmas gave to Queen Elizabeth and King Tyler are down there. I've always wanted to try my hand at sai fighting. Or close combat fighting in general," Ava said.

"You've never fought in close combat before?" Sinaaq asked dubiously. Ava shook her head.

"No, my specialty is archery. I've never been good at anything else. Oh, I know enough hand-to-hand to keep me alive, but only until I can get to my arrows again," she answered.

"Well we shall fix that soon enough," Sinaaq said. Ava smiled.

"You fight in close-quarter combat?" she asked. She remembered seeing his spear and shield, but she had assumed the spear was for throwing.

"Yes, always. Maybe you can teach me archery?" Sinaaq asked, smirking down at her. Ava still could not understand what he was always smirking about.

"It would be my pleasure," she replied. Sinaaq smiled. By now, they had arrived at Ava's suite. Sinaaq waited outside while Ava changed. When she reemerged from the room, the lavender dress was gone and she was wearing clothes that made keeping eye contact with her very difficult. Her bodice was a deep purple, under-bust corset that laced up in the front. Under it, she wore a black undershirt with long, puffy sleeves and a drawstring neckline that fell off her shoulders. With this, she wore boots similar to her riding ones and black leggings. Sinaaq's breath caught in his throat and he coughed.

"Are you alright, Sinaaq? Not getting ill I hope," Ava said as she began walking in the direction of the training room, expecting him to follow.

"No, no, I am quite alright," Sinaaq said, trying not to stare as they walked.

* * *

They had been training for hours on end, and Sinaaq was realizing just how easy it was to frustrate the tiny queen. He had to give it to her, she was determined to get things right. However, her determination turned into an obsession and she wouldn't quit until she got something down. What Sinaaq found most intriguing was the fact that she was stronger and faster than he remembered and was not wearing down at all.

They had started off the sparring with Ava teaching Sinaaq how to do archery. To her surprise, he learned it immediately, turning out to be a natural at it. After less than an hour, they had moved to hand-to-hand combat. Sinaaq thought it would be safer to start off with_out_ daggers or short swords and he was thankful he'd done so.

Currently, he was teaching Ava how to grapple. Although she had grown stronger, Sinaaq was still stronger than she was, making it difficult for her to knock him off his feet. Sinaaq knocked Ava to the ground again, cradling her head so it didn't hit the floor.

"You still aren't getting it right," he said, smirking slightly. Ava growled and wriggled in his grasp, attempting to get a better hold on him, but it was no use.

"Let's try again," Sinaaq said, standing up and placing Ava in front of him. She was so easy to move, like a little doll. She stared him down, every muscle in her body tense as she clasped hands with Sinaaq.

"Ready? … Go!" Sinaaq commanded. Immediately, Ava tried to knock him off his feet. Sinaaq stood there, teasing her by pretending to look bored, while she struggled. At last, she stepped forward and hooked her leg around one of his then pulled back while pushing him. She did it so fast that she managed to catch Sinaaq off guard and he fell to the ground. However, when he realized he was falling, he grabbed her and took her down with him. When they landed, she was lying on top of him and he was smirking triumphantly. Ava glared at him and stuck her tongue out.

"Don't stick your tongue out, Highness, unless you intend to use it," Sinaaq admonished teasingly. Ava rolled her eyes and pushed herself up. As she tried to stand up—without stepping on Sinaaq—she tripped and fell into a suit of armor that they'd landed precariously close to. Ava cowered on the floor, expecting the suit of armor to come toppling down on her…but it didn't.

Sinaaq and Ava sat there, waiting for something to happen, but the only thing out of place was one of the arms, which held a battle axe. After deciding it was relatively safe, Ava stood up and pushed the arm back into place. As soon as she did, the wall that held all the archery targets (the wall parallel to the door) shifted. One piece of the wall with a target on it slid back then disappeared, revealing a hidden passageway. Sinaaq and Ava stared at each other in disbelief then back at the passage.

"Do you think it's safe?" Ava asked softly. Sinaaq crossed the room to the passage and looked inside as much as he could without stepping through the door.

"There appears to be a staircase leading down," Sinaaq said. Ava grabbed a small candelabrum from a pedestal and joined him at the door.

"May we investigate?" Ava asked, somewhat tentative. Sinaaq looked down at her, noting that she was starting to chew on her bottom lip again. He smiled at her and grabbed her hand.

"Of course, milady," he said, taking the candelabrum from her and leading them into the passage. They only needed to walk three feet before they came to the stairs. They descended the spiral staircase carefully, for the candles only provided a small amount of light. Thankfully, the staircase wasn't very long and they reached the bottom quickly. Sinaaq moved the candles around, and found that, to his left, there was a large marble bowl of oil on a pedestal. Carefully, he removed a candle from the candelabrum and touched the flame to the oil. Instantly, the oil ignited, causing Sinaaq to jerk his hand away, leaving the candle behind.

As soon as the flames had grown, the light shone on a mirror, which sent a beam of light to another mirror, and so on, lighting up the entire room.

Sinaaq and Ava stood at the foot of the stairs, gaping in awe at the long lost treasure room of Cair Paravel.


	10. The Treasure Room

**Disclaimer: I only own Ava, Sinaaq, and the Guardians.**

**This chapter is much shorter than the previous chapters, but don't worry, they'll get longer again when I have more to write.**

* * *

The treasure room wasn't filled with piles of gold coins and jewels like one would expect it to be. Rather, there were six alcoves, each with a statue posed behind a large trunk. As Ava and Sinaaq stepped further into the treasure room, they could see that the statues were of the kings and queens of old and of the two previous Guardians.

Ava let go of Sinaaq's hand and made her way to the alcove containing the statue of Queen Lucy the Valiant. She curled her fingers around the top of the trunk and lifted, finding it to be unlocked. She lifted the lid all the way and peered inside the trunk. She already knew that Lucy's cordial would not be amongst her possessions, for Caspian always kept it on his person in case of an emergency. The dagger that she had received from Father Christmas was still there, lying atop every article of clothing she'd ever owned, every shoe, her crown, and a few other possessions. Lucy had never been a very material person, unlike Queen Susan the Gentle, and did not have many shoes or jewels like one may expect. Ava picked up the dagger and unsheathed it, turning it over it her hands. It was beautiful, and still in perfect condition, but she was not interested in it and moved on to Queen Susan's trunk.

Sinaaq was busy inspecting the contents of King Edmund's trunk. King Peter's trunk had not been very interesting, as Caspian now owned and used Peter's sword Rhindon. King Edmund's sword was very nice, though nothing of particular amazement. He put it back in the trunk and closed it. He turned around and saw the fifth alcove, containing a statue of another king and a trunk.

Ava found many beautiful things in Queen Susan's trunk, but nothing that truly interested her. Granted, Queen Susan's bow and arrows were spectacular, but Ava preferred to use her own, which were made especially for her. She felt a small tingle run down her spine and felt a strong urge to look through Queen Elizabeth's trunk. She made her way to it, and put her hands on the lid. She felt a warm tingle spread through her body and slowly opened the trunk. The only things inside it were the things Ava had been searching for—Elizabeth's sai and wand. Ava exhaled softly as she reached out to touch the main shaft of one of the sai. The metal felt warm under her fingertips, though she didn't know why. She picked up the sai, one in each hand, and turned them in the light. According to legend, the gifts that Father Christmas bestowed upon the Guardians were sentient and would only work for their masters. Ava grabbed Elizabeth's leather belt from the trunk and put it on, then sheathed the sai in their sheaths on each side. It felt good to have them; almost like they were made for her.

She looked down at Elizabeth's wand. Although she had only been interested in the sai, the wand suddenly had her full attention, as if it was calling to her, begging her to touch it. She reached out and let her fingertips brush the handle. As she did, she felt something pulse through her body and come alive inside her. She grabbed the wand and lifted it from the trunk, twirling it in her hand a couple times like a weapon. It seemed to glow, but maybe it was just the way the light was hitting it. Ava looked around the room for Sinaaq, her eyes finding him kneeling in front of King Tyler's open trunk.

She stood there for several moments, staring at him. She'd spent many a time staring at him over the last month and she remembered how she stared at him the night she found him bleeding on the stairs. He certainly was a handsome man; sinfully handsome really. Though that wasn't why she often found herself staring at him. Honestly, she didn't know much about him, aside from his past. She didn't know what books he liked to read or what his favorite color was, but she did know that he couldn't ride horses to save his life, he had a sense of humor that annoyed the hell out of her, and he always had a twinkle in his eyes and a smirk on his lips that she couldn't place.

Had she fallen for him? She was beginning to think she had, but it would be silly to fall for someone she didn't know. She thought about the sacrifice he had made for her. He gave his blood, and risked his life, to save her. She thought about his reaction when she was dying and how he reacted when he realized she was alive. He was so damn confusing. Did he love her? Ava shook her head, her subconscious admonishing her. _Stop it, Ava. If he loved you, he'd be with you. He'd court you. If he wanted to be with you he would be with you._ Ava sighed and made her way over to him to see what he was doing.

* * *

Sinaaq had found himself in quite the predicament. When he'd opened King Tyler's trunk, the only items it contained had been a ring and a strange looking whip. At first, he'd thought it was a vine, but upon further inspection, he realized that it was a whip with large, bloodstained, steel "thorns" braided through it. Though he still couldn't figure out what the whip was made out of. That's when he tried to pick it up.

As soon as his fingers touched the handle, the whip shuddered, and then started to writhe and squirm as if it was alive. Sinaaq's brow furrowed. Suddenly, the whip lashed out at his outstretched arm like an angry snake and wrapped around it, digging its thorns into his arm until they drew blood. Sinaaq cried out and grabbed the coiled whip and picked it up, trying to figure out how to make the damn thing let go of him. He tried pulling it off and shaking it off, but it refused to go anywhere.

"Sinaaq? What did you find?" Ava asked from behind him. Sinaaq turned around, holding his arm up for her to see. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my…"

"I can't make it let go. I don't understand what's happening," he said. Although his voice was level, Ava could hear a note of panic in his voice. She approached him cautiously and reached out to touch his arm. The whip shuddered, but did nothing. Ava grabbed at it at different places, trying to make it let go of him.

"Damnit, let go!" Ava mumbled, frustrated. At once, the whip shuddered and fell into the trunk, lifeless. Ava stared at it in surprise—right before Sinaaq slammed the lid down and latched it, breathing hard. Ava turned to him, scrutinizing the bleeding wounds on his arm.

"They might need stitches. We won't know until we get upstairs and get them cleaned off," she said.

"I've never had _that_ happen before," Sinaaq said, running a hand through his unruly hair, which had become slightly more silver since he'd met Ava.

"Best not be messing with that thing again anytime soon," Ava muttered.

"Agreed," Sinaaq said. An awkward silence fell over them as they stood in front of the trunk, unsure of what to do now. Sinaaq looked up at Ava and caught her gaze.

The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Just as Sinaaq began to step toward her, fully intent on kissing her, they heard Caspian's voice at the top of the stairs.

"Hello? Is there anyone down there?" he called.

Sinaaq stopped moving toward Ava and turned toward the staircase. Ava tilted her head at him, confused by his actions.

"Yes, Caspian, we're down here!" she called back.

"We?" Caspian asked, coming down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom, staring in awe. "Amazing! I haven't been able to find this place since we rebuilt this castle! How did you two find it?" he asked. Ava yawned and pushed past Sinaaq, making her way toward the stairs.

"We shall tell you in the morning. In the meantime, I am going to retire for the night, I'm exhausted," she said. Caspian chuckled.

"For the night? Dear Ava, it's already breakfast time. You have been awake all night. When neither of you showed up for breakfast, I came looking for you," he said. Ava sighed.

"Alright, let me go freshen up first and I'll meet you in the Great Hall," she conceded. She turned and gave Sinaaq a polite nod and then headed up the stairs and out of sight.

Caspian looked after Ava then turned and looked at Sinaaq with a smirk. "Is there something going on that I do not know?"

Sinaaq began to make his way up the stairs, stopping right next to Caspian. "No," he answered curtly before ascending the stairs and heading to his room.


	11. Masquerade

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ava, Sinaaq (in a manner of speaking), Cainen (also in a manner of speaking) and the Guardians.**

**Note: Ava's gown is inspired by the "Just Breathe" gown from the movie **_**Ever After**_** (which I do not own) and Princess Buttercup's wedding gown from **_**The Princess Bride**_** (which I also do not own).**

**As if I didn't have enough drama in here between Ava, the Guardians, Amarok, and Sinaaq, I've decided to add Cainen to make things more difficult. **

***Listens for reviews and only hears crickets chirping* Sigh…**

* * *

In the days that followed, the chaos of the world seemed to die down in some ways…right before it picked up in other ways. The earthquakes had stopped and the forest seemed tame once again. The heavy raining, snowing, sleeting, and hailing had ceased, the river filled and the Eastern Sea was calmed. However, the random fires grew more prevalent, and the raging winds developed into full-scale tornadoes that destroyed anything in their path. The length of the days and nights were still irregular; sometimes there would be days without light and nights without darkness. Lighting storms were just as common as the tornadoes, and even caused some of the fires. People's spirits seemed to change and darken; people became restless and violent and abandoned the peace and serenity that was Narnia.

"This is exactly why we need to have this masquerade!" Caspian said one day as Ava tried to convince him to cancel it. "We need to remind the people of Narnia what we stand for. We need to give them some hope. What better way to do that than with merrymaking?" Caspian asked with a smile. Ava sighed.

"Besides, the invitations have already been sent out. I even took the liberty of inviting every talking wolf in Narnia. It will give Sinaaq a chance to make peace with them," Caspian pointed out. Ava groaned softly and left the room to take her frustration out on some practice dummies.

Thinking of Sinaaq frustrated her even more. The two of them had not had contact in the previous days and she was convinced that he was avoiding her. Though, if she was being honest with herself, she had been spending mass amounts of time in the sparring room with her sai and her wand, telling herself that she wasn't avoiding him. Being around him confused her; she was never quite sure how to respond to him or how he felt about her. If that wasn't bad enough, she was still without her tonic and growing increasingly emotional as the days went by.

Ava entered the practice room only to find Sinaaq, shirtless; doing what appeared to be stretches before training. Ava's breath hitched in her throat and she felt heat spread through her body. She told herself that she should leave, that this was inappropriate, but she couldn't look away. She watched him move and saw the muscles tighten and relax in his back and arms. Her pulse quickened and she felt herself shaking a bit. In the year that Ava had been queen, she had never met a man like him. Though, to be honest, most of the "people" she'd had to meet had been talking animals and creatures; very few were of the human variety. Before becoming queen, she lived in the middle of the woods away from most people. Therefore, seeing a shirtless man, one she possibly fancied, was overwhelming. She exhaled softly as she stared at him.

That's when Sinaaq turned around, catching her staring at him. Ava's eyes widened and she froze, heat rising in her cheeks. He merely gave her a flirtatious smirk. She tried not to stare at his chest.

"See something you like, princess?" Sinaaq asked, stepping toward her. Ava took a minute to regain her composure, fighting to keep eye contact with him.

"Uh…um…I…I just came to remind you of the Samonios masquerade ball," she stammered, making up an excuse. The look on Sinaaq's face suggested that he didn't buy it.

"Thank you for 'reminding me', but parties are not really something I enjoy. I shall probably spend the night in the library and avoid the festivities," he said. At this, Ava tilted her head. She'd never met someone who didn't enjoy a masquerade ball.

"Why do you not enjoy them? There will be plenty of food and dancing," she asked.

"The food sounds wonderful, but I do _not_ dance," Sinaaq replied, cracking his neck one more time and rolling his shoulders.

"You do _not dance_? I've never heard of such a thing! Why do you not dance? It's such a wonderful thing to do. I find myself dancing whenever the mood strikes me," Ava said. Sinaaq smirked.

"I know you do. I've seen you when you think nobody is watching," he said. Ava blushed furiously and pretended to find something interesting about the floor.

"Dancing is something I never took an interest in. Some of the prostitutes in the brothels I went to tried to teach me, but I politely declined."

Ava shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe that someone didn't like dancing. She was also going to have to be careful about when she decided to dance. She chewed on her bottom lip.

"Unfortunately, Sinaaq, you will _have_ to attend the masquerade," she said.

"And why is that?" Sinaaq asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Caspian has invited every talking wolf in Narnia from Ettinsmoor to the edges of Archenland. He thought the masquerade would be a good chance for you to make peace with them," Ava answered.

Sinaaq sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. "I suppose meeting them during a crowded masquerade would be much better than the alternative?" he asked.

"Meeting them in a private meeting? Yes," Ava answered.

"Alright. Fine. I suppose I shall go to this dreaded affair, but do not expect to see me dancing," Sinaaq conceded. Ava smirked.

"Of course not," she said, before turning to leave.

"When is the masquerade?" Sinaaq asked after her.

"In a fortnight," Ava called over her shoulder as she left the room.

* * *

The fourteen days before the masquerade flew by in no time at all. Those days were spent planning and preparing and decorating the castle. Most of that time, Ava and Sinaaq did not see much of each other. Ava spent most of her time in her room, trying to find a way to call new Guardians, for it seemed as though Narnia was running out of time. If she wasn't in her room, she was in the sparring room with her sai and her wand. As the days passed, Ava had more strange occurrences with water and started experimenting. She found that she was able to heat and cool water just by staring at it. It wasn't much, but it brought her mind back to the legend of the Guardians and the fact that there was a Guardian for each element. Since she'd died, the element of water seemed to have calmed.

Sinaaq spent his time either in the sparring room—when Ava wasn't there—or holed up in the library reading. He'd already made it through one section of the library and was rapidly finishing off the first level.

The night of the masquerade had finally come and everyone in the palace was rushing around to get everything ready in the Great Hall. The musician—a wood elf who played the violin and sang like a siren—came early to practice, filling the castle with her beautiful music.

The Great Hall was filled with creatures and humans and talking animals before the sun had finished setting; all were in masks and costumes of some sort. Sinaaq chose to wear all black with a black, leather wolf mask that covered the top half of his face. It seemed appropriate. Though as soon as he saw the talking wolves, he took the mask off. He thought it would be better to leave it off until after he'd made peace with them, that is, _if_ they accepted his apology.

He kept to the shadows and the less crowded areas of the room until he saw Caspian approach him, followed by several wolves. Sinaaq exhaled slowly. _Here goes nothing._

* * *

Ava took deep breaths to calm herself as she approached the doors that lead to the Great Hall. The masquerade had started already and she would be expected to make a grand entrance. Most people of Narnia and Archenland were still not as familiar with her as they were with Caspian. She really hated having people stare at her, but it came with being a queen.

With another deep breath, she motioned for the guards to open the doors, announcing her arrival.

* * *

The wolves had been much more understanding that Sinaaq had anticipated. Though some of them were still skeptical of him, most accepted his apology, especially after he told them of Amarok. By the end, Sinaaq walked away with his limbs still intact and a new alliance. Since nothing more had been required of him for the evening, he'd decided to retreat to a bench in a corner of the room and read a book he had brought with him. He could have left, but he was somewhat curious to see what Ava had come as and, if he was being honest, he wanted to see her dance again.

Silence fell over the room and Sinaaq looked up from his book to see what had happened. What he saw made his mind go blank. Ava had made her grand entrance and was sauntering past him into the Great Hall.

Her gown was the color of fresh snow and shimmered in the light. It had a Bateau neckline and an empire waist and flowed from her body like a white, satin waterfall. The bodice had been decorated with a pattern of glass beading. The sleeves bore her ivory shoulders and flowed to her wrists in thin, gossamer waves, obscuring the fitted sleeves underneath that ended at her middle fingers by looping around them. She must have been wearing slippers with heels, for she was a bit taller than usual. Her hair was left down, but had been curled in ringlets and pulled back at the sides. Atop her head, she wore white animal ears complete with little diamonds. It was hard to tell if the ears were cat ears or something else. Her mask was on a stick, and when she held it up to her face, it became clear that she was meant to be a white fox. Her crown was composed of elegant, silver swirls, silver ivy leaves, and tiny porcelain flowers, accented with garnets. She wore a matching ivy leaf pendant around her neck.

Sinaaq felt himself unable to concentrate on his book any longer as he observed Ava from his peripheral vision. Though he could see how nervous she was, she was stunning and charming as she moved through the room, conversing with anyone that came to her and smiling and nodding at the appropriate times. He watched as she made a beeline for the long table adorned with every food imaginable (and even some that wasn't imaginable) and poured herself a goblet of wine, unceremoniously downing it and fidgeting uncomfortably.

* * *

Her second goblet of wine in, the violinist started playing something new and fast-paced. Though the center of the room was free for dancing, nobody stepped up to do so. Nobody wanted to be the first one up there. By now, the wine had calmed Ava's nerves and she felt confident enough to step out in front of everyone, despite their staring. It was customary for one of the monarchs to start off the dancing anyway.

"Will anyone accompany me for a dance?" she asked coyly. As she looked around, her eyes caught sight of Sinaaq. His nose was buried in a book, and surely he didn't notice what she was doing. She was surprised to find him still there, despite his dislike of big parties and dancing.

Ava could feel the stares of the party goers the longer she stood there without a party. Just as she was wondering if she should make a hasty exit, someone pushed through the crowd. This man was tall—but not quite as tall as Caspian and Sinaaq—and leanly built beneath his cobalt-blue costume. He wore a very ornate blue and black half mask, made to look like a dragon and accent with silver. His skin was gently tanned—almost not tanned at all—and his fine, brown hair had traces of red in it, as did his goatee. Beneath the mask, this man had green eyes—with just a hint of caramel in them—that were full of mischief. Though Ava couldn't see his face, she guessed him to be about the same age as Caspian. He made his way to Ava, bowed, and held out his hand.

"May I have the honor of dancing with you, my queen?" Ava smiled and took his hand, hoping that this fellow actually knew how to dance. It was always annoying when one had to teach a partner mid-dance.

"I would be delighted," she answered as the stranger led her into the dance. Ava was an experienced dancer—she had been told that she mastered dancing before walking—and matched this man move for move. As they moved, they smiled and laughed. Ava was pleased to have a worthy dance partner. And though she was enjoying herself, her eyes still flickered around the room for Sinaaq whenever she was able. She could barely see him through the crowd and she wondered if he was still there. Every now and then, she'd catch a glimpse of him, still engrossed in his book.

The dance ended and a slower one started. This time, Ava and the stranger were able to converse during the dance, barely noticing that everyone else had paired up and joined them.

"So, who do I have to thank for rescuing me from embarrassment?" Ava asked, unaware that she was being somewhat flirtatious. The stranger grinned.

"The name's Cainen McKlaus, Your Majesty," he answered.

"Tis quite an interesting name. And what, pray tell, have you dressed as this evening?" Ava asked him. Though his costume was quite obvious, it was the only thing she could think of to say at the moment. If Cainen thought it was a dumb question, he didn't show it.

"A dragon, Your Majesty. And would I be correct if I guessed you to be a fox?" Cainen responded, a light smirk on his lips.

"Yes, you would be very correct. Please, call me Ava," she insisted as they touched palms and walked in a circle. Cainen was proving to be quite a charmer, though thoughts of Sinaaq were still in her mind.

"Caspian is very lucky to have you as his queen," Cainen said. Ava giggled. She put one arm around his torso and he did the same to her and they waltzed in another circle.

"I may be _a_ queen, but I am not _Caspian's_ queen. He is like a brother to me. He merely insisted on crowning me queen because I am a descendent of Queen Elizabeth and King Tyler, so the throne is half mine," Ava explained.

"Fair enough," Cainen said, clasping her hand and twirling her. "Does this mean that the queen has no lover? I find that difficult to believe."

"And why is that?" Ava asked coyly, her eyes flickering past his shoulder (as much as they could) to look for Sinaaq.

"I should think it obvious, Your-Ava," Cainen answered, a suggestive smirk playing across his visage. Ava blushed and pretended to be interested in her shoes. They _were_ quite pretty after all—covered in the same beaded satin as her gown with four-inch diamond heels. Pretty, but lacking practicality.

"So, Cainen, where are you from?" Ava asked, changing the subject.

"Archenland," he answered.

"Ah. And what is it you do for a living?" Ava asked. Cainen smiled.

"I'm an artisan."

"Very nice, you must be quite wealthy," Ava said. Cainen shrugged.

"I'm not doing it for gold," he said. Ava nodded in approval.

"That's very admirable of you."

At last, the dance ended and Ava curtseyed politely to Cainen, with the intent on discreetly looking for Sinaaq. However, when she looked around, she saw him, and she felt her heart lodge itself in her throat. He was talking to a blonde woman. She was a mere human, guessing by her mannerisms and appearance. Her hair was short, wavy, and bright blonde—though the darker roots suggested that she'd been using mixtures from an apothecary to lighten it; a trend that was steadily becoming popular everywhere except Narnia itself. The woman was quite corpulent in build and couldn't have been younger than forty years of age. She was taller than Ava, though that wasn't saying much. Ava felt a fire burn inside her, starting in her belly and radiating up through her chest and into her throat where she swore her heart was. This woman was dressed like a tavern wench, showing _much_ more cleavage than what was acceptable. More importantly, she was all over Sinaaq, taking flirting to a new level. Ava could not tell from where she stood how Sinaaq was reacting, but her heart thumped painfully when she saw him laugh at something the woman said.

As Ava drew discreetly closer, the woman's irritating voice became easier to discern, as well as the contents of her goblet. Ava was pleased to discover that the woman was drinking _water_. With a look that exuded pure wrath, Ava glared at the woman's goblet until she could see the water begin to bubble and steam. What happened next, Ava had not expected. The water appeared to leap out of the goblet and splash the woman in the face. The woman shrieked, dropping the goblet and grabbing at her face. Ava stood gaping, too shocked to be delighted by her handy work, as the woman shrieked. Luckily, the only thing the hot water did was turn her skin red and smear her layers upon layers of make-up. Once the shock wore off, Ava had to admit that her new power was quite splendid.

Suddenly, as if feeling her gaze on him, Sinaaq looked up and right at Ava. Ava felt the blood drain from her face. She didn't know how, but she knew that Sinaaq knew it was her doing. Before Cainen could ask her for another dance, she was fleeing the room as discreetly as possible.

* * *

Ava sat in one of Cair Paravel's many gardens, trying her damnedest to refrain from crying, for fear of smearing her own make-up. She supposed she deserved it. What was that line about things coming back threefold? It was horribly hot outside, especially for the month of Samonios, and Ava's dress did not help the matter. Suddenly, a throat cleared behind her. Ava inhaled deeply, recognizing the scent of leather, smoke, and mint—that almost resembled mountain air and pine trees—that was Sinaaq. Ava found it ironic that, even though her hearing had greatly improved, Sinaaq was still able to sneak up on her. She sighed and turned to face him, hoping he wouldn't know she'd been ready to cry.

"Yes?" she asked, keeping her voice level. Try as she might, she was having a difficult time keeping the venom out of her tone.

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" Sinaaq asked, crossing his arms like a father scolding his child. Ava stood up so that he could not look down at her.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," she insisted, staring at the beading on her sleeves.

"Oh I think you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about, Ava. Why did you burn Jocelyn with her water?" Sinaaq pressed. Ava snorted. _Jocelyn. How original._ She thought bitterly.

"Oh you mean the trollop that was exposing her bosom to you and everyone else at this ball? Well, I thought about using ice water to cool her off, but the hot water was so much more satisfying," Ava said, her voice practically dripping with venomous disdain. She'd decided that denying what she'd done would be pointless; Sinaaq had a way of knowing things. She knew she was being unusually petulant, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"That a very petty act of you. I would expect more from a queen," Sinaaq admonished.

"Do not admonish me, Sinaaq. I am not _just_ a queen you know! I happen to be a woman with emotions! Emotions that _you_ would know nothing about!" Ava snapped, her jaw quivering with rage.

"I know you are a woman. It's hard not to notice when it comes to you. And what emotions are you referring to? The negative ones kept at bay by your tonic? Or the emotions you target at me?" Sinaaq said. Ava stopped short, staring at him like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. Upon seeing her look, Sinaaq said, "Trufflehunter told me. Don't get angry with him, I pressed for the information once you started getting so easily upset and avoiding people."

Ava bit her tongue until she tasted blood in order to keep the tears at bay. She clenched her fists, wincing as her nails dug into her palms. The more emotional she became, the more the weather changed. Clouds shrouded the stars, pouring down steaming hot rain, sleet, and hail all at once.

"So are you going to tell me what this is all about? One minute, you're fawning over me and the next, you're flirting with some Archenlander. What are you trying to accomplish here?" Sinaaq asked, an accusing tone in his voice. Ava refused to look at him.

"I was not attempting to flirt with Cainen," she said, not realizing how she'd come off to the Archenlander or to Sinaaq. "And why would it matter if I was? I do not have anyone asking for my hand do I?" She stared into Sinaaq's eyes, challenging him to tell her if he had feelings for her. Sinaaq stared back, full of frustration, clenching his fists. Ava broke eye contact first and picked up her skirt, turning to walk away.

"Forget it," she mumbled.

"_No!_" Sinaaq's exclamation was enough to stop Ava from fleeing, though she did not turn around to face him.

"No more running. No more avoiding the subject. Tell me the truth," Sinaaq demanded. Ava's bottom lip quivered and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

"I cannot," she said, her voice breaking.

"Why not?" Sinaaq asked, his voice slightly less harsh than before.

"Because it would only complicate things," Ava answered.

"Tell me anyway. Our lives cannot become much more complicated than they already are," Sinaaq pressed. Ava spun around to face him, tears trickling down her cheeks. She locked eyes with him.

"_I. Fancy. You._ There? Are you satisfied? I said it! I fancy you, Sinaaq!" Ava exclaimed, emphasizing every word. Sinaaq should have looked taken aback, but instead, he seemed to already know that she would say that.

"Why did you not tell me?" he asked. Ava threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Because it would not change anything. You are not accustomed to feelings. You are accustomed to meaningless physical activities with women you don't much care for. And let us just say you fancied me back, would it change anything even then? I've waited and waited for you to say or do something, Sinaaq. The kisses you stole from me in the beginning, every disaster, every sparring match, every meal together, every bloody conversation—I have waited on baited breath for you to ask me to be yours. And you never do. You seem to care; after all you did save my life and seemed rather pleased to see me alive. You indulge me by doing things such as horseback riding—things I know you would never willingly do of your own accord. But at the end of the day, I am still sleeping alone without as much as the promise of publicly courting you ahead of me. At the end of the day, you still refuse to tell me what is going on or whether or not my feelings surpass yours. Women are not patient creatures, Sinaaq, if kept dangling from a thread for too long, we will fall."

Sinaaq stared at Ava. Whether he was hurt by her words or not was difficult to tell.

"Is that really what you think?" he asked.

"I have no idea _what_ to think!" Ava exclaimed. "Besides, I could never blame you for staying away from me. I am a damaged person. Very few people can, and willingly choose, to put up with me. Hence the reason for my tonic. It keeps me from feeling too much. I only ran out because I was taking extra in order to cope with…recent events. I never intended to want you when I met you, but somehow I do. You never leave me, but you also never give yourself to me either. I fancy you, but you're not mine. I can hope and pray and wish on every damn star in Narnia, but it's ultimately up to you. And your exertions with Jocelyn," Ava practically spit the name, "do not hold much promise. I suppose it's my fault; after all, she got to you first."

For a few achingly long moments, both of them were silent. Ava's body trembled as tears rolled down her cheeks, washing away the silver-white shimmer powder on her face. Sinaaq made to step towards her, but was afraid the action would make her run, so he settled for planting his feet right where he was. The hailing had stopped and the steaming rain gave way to snow.

"I want you." The statement was simple and clear and it caught Ava off guard. "Believe it, or not, I want you." Ava recovered from her shock and stared at him.

"And what, pray tell, are you going to do about it?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Words are not enough. Actions speak louder. And your actions have kept me waiting in vain for quite a while."

Before he could even respond, a deep rumbling chuckle was heard a few feet away from them. Ava and Sinaaq froze; the blood drained from their faces as they turned in the direction the chuckle came from. First one, large, white paw stepped forward from the darkness, then another, until at last, the face of Amarok, staring at them with the utmost evil in his eyes appeared from the shadows.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he taunted. Sinaaq grabbed Ava's wrist and pulled her to him, pushing her behind him and shielding her with his body. Ava was too terrified to huff at him in frustration; this wolf was responsible for her death.

"Be gone, Amarok, I will not fight you here," Sinaaq commanded.

"Then it shall be all too easy to kill you and the pretty little queen," Amarok replied.

Suddenly, from deep within the shadows of the night, wolves appeared one by one, snarling and growling deep in their chests. All of them were huge, which suggested that they were talking wolves. Amarok had brought an army. Ava glanced between wolves she had known and Sinaaq, the man she fancied; the man who'd saved her life.

"I guess making amends did not go so well, huh?"


	12. Shocking Revelations

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ava, Sinaaq (in a manner of speaking), Cainen (in a manner of speaking), and the Guardians.**

* * *

Ava stared at the wolves over Sinaaq's shoulder. He hadn't responded to her comment; he was too busy watching the wolves, waiting for them to attack. Ava saw Bane and Matias standing next to Amarok at the head of the small army.

"How could you do this?" she asked.

"How could you allow this killer to go unpunished?" Bane retorted. Ava was taken aback.

"It was an honest mistake!" she exclaimed. The wolves snorted.

"That is what he has told you. How do you know he has not been fooling you, and Caspian, this entire time?" Matias pointed out.

Ava's stomach churned. She hadn't thought of that. No, he couldn't be lying. Why would someone who saved her life, who mourned her death, who protected her now, lie to her? She thought about it. He hadn't lied to _her_, at least not directly, he had lied to _Caspian_. It could've been his way to escape punishment. She kept thinking, and the more she did, the more her thoughts and feelings seemed to contradict each other. Though she stayed standing behind Sinaaq, she took her hands off of him and stepped back so there was at least a couple inches of space between them.

Sinaaq felt this and wanted to look back at her in question, but he couldn't afford to take his eyes off of the wolves.

Amarok was smiling in the way that only a wolf could. He had successfully planted a seed of doubt in Ava's mind, that much was obvious.

"We are simply uniting against a common enemy," Matias snarled.

"And once Amarok is freed and able to possess whoever he chooses, what will you do then?" Sinaaq pointed out. The lesser wolves—Betas and Omegas—paused for a moment, seeming to think it over.

"What Amarok does to the humans is not our concern. We look after our own kind," Bane snarled.

Ava swallowed the betrayal she felt inside and turned her attention to Amarok. She needed to figure out what his plan was. After all, what was so desirable about being able to possess any animal you choose? Ava's eyes locked on him and his evil, silver eyes met her grey ones. She searched for several moments, trying in vain to see what he was planning.

"Am I to understand that you are doing all of this just to kill me, Amarok? I'm flattered, Sinaaq said, as if reading her mind. Amarok chuckled darkly.

"I have moved on from my vendetta against you, Sinaaq. Let someone else kill you and move the curse to them. No…I have bigger plans," he answered.

"Care to share them with the rest of us?" Ava asked, an escape plan forming in her mind. The wolf chuckled again.

"You shall find out soon enough, little queen. Unless, you would like to join me?"

Ava snorted in disgust. "No, thank you."

"No? What about you, Sinaaq?" Amarok asked, turning his gaze to the man. Sinaaq merely stood there, staring at him, his jaw and his fists clenched. Ava noted that he hadn't immediately said no.

"She would make you a king, Sinaaq. You could rule this world next to us," Amarok said, trying to sound enticing.

_She?_ Ava wondered. She thought about it for a long time, but was having trouble thinking as she was currently engaged in trying to create a heavy mist between her and the wolves.

"This world is dying, Amarok; there won't be much left to rule before long," Sinaaq pointed out.

"A dying world is no match for her power soon enough," Amarok replied.

Ava's brow furrowed in confusion. Her eyes flickered toward the ground as discreetly as possible, seeing that a significant amount of heavy fog had accumulated around them, rising steadily till it was up to her knees. She needed to concentrate harder.

"Who is 'her'? Sinaaq asked suspiciously. Amarok's attention was on him, giving Ava the opening she needed.

Her vision clouded as her eyes turned a solid grey with no discernible pupil or sclera, her curls began to tremble as if being tossed by wind, but the air was eerily still. The fog had become much too opaque for anyone to see through as it rose higher and higher. Ava subconsciously opened her hands, palms facing forward, as if giving the fog a push towards the wolves. She groaned once, the power overwhelming, and thrust her hands forward. The fog seemed to attack the wolves, obscuring them from sight. When Ava was sure the fog would hold for a moment, she grabbed Sinaaq by the wrist and took off running toward the castle door she had come out of. She used all her power to run faster, all her weight on the balls of her feet since she was still wearing heels, as she dragged Sinaaq along behind her.

As her chest started burn from the effort, she reached the door, slamming up against it and fumbling with the doorknob. She heard the angry howls of the wolves getting closer. At last, the door opened and she pushed Sinaaq inside, following him and slamming the door behind them. She locked it and leaned her head against the thick oak, reinforced by iron, panting heavily.

"Are you alright?" Sinaaq asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Ava froze; Sinaaq's touch was like ice to her now. She straightened up, but did not turn to face him.

"Oh yes, I'm _quite_ alright," she said as she reached her right hand up to her bodice.

Before Sinaaq could say another word, Ava spun around and punched him square in the nose. His face contorted in pain and shock as his hand flew to his bleeding nose and he collapsed to his knees. He looked up into her grey eyes, which stared down at him with seething hatred.

"Ava…what…?" he stuttered as his blood poured down his tunic.

"I should have killed you in the beginning you traitorous bastard!" Ava exclaimed, rage and hurt consuming her.

"I didn't—"

"Spare me the lies, Sinaaq," Ava hissed, her heart aching as she watched someone she had loved; who she believed had betrayed her and all of Narnia, dying in front of her.

"As a matter of fact, _little queen_, he's not lying," a voice said. Ava froze, her gaze turning to the source of the voice.

"Jocelyn?" Ava asked incredulously.

She stood there, mere feet away, a smug smile marring her already cruel features, her hands on her hips.

"Actually, my name is not Jocelyn," she answered, her voice growing more poisonous, "it's _Jadis_."

Ava felt her chest tighten painfully. It was as if her heart was in her throat. She had never met Jadis personally, but she had read the journals of King Edmund the Just and she had spoken with Caspian about her and knew exactly what the White Witch had done the last time she had been alive.

"Impossible! Jadis is dead!" Ava exclaimed, trying not to stammer.

"That was the old me, princess. Reincarnation can be a wonderful thing," Jocelyn responded.

"Really? I don't see how it's done you much good—you look like a hag," Ava retorted, recovering a little.

"You are not in much of a position to be spewing insults, girl, your lover is dying," Jocelyn pointed out. Ava's brow furrowed in confusion. Before she could say a word, however, Jocelyn answered her stare by retrieving a dagger from her bodice and hurling it into the side of Sinaaq's neck.

Ava gasped and knelt in front of Sinaaq, pressing her hands frantically to his neck. She began to weep as his blood seeped through her fingers.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Sinaaq, please don't die!" Ava cried. Sinaaq put a bloody hand to her cheek softly, unable to speak. Jocelyn watched smugly.

"In truth, he did betray all of you, so you should not feel bad about killing him," she said, sounding delighted with the queen's grief.

"What are you talking about?" Ava asked, looking up at her with a bloody face and tearful eyes.

"How else do you think he just happened to fall unconscious at Cair Paravel of all places? He was meant to find a way into the castle and procure information of the Guardians so that I may gain use of their powers," Jocelyn answered.

"So…the blood transfusion…it was all to gain my trust?" Ava said quietly.

"Well, not exactly. He was supposed to gain your trust, saving your life just happened to occur along the way. It was quite helpful though," Jocelyn said.

"And the wolves he killed?" Ava asked.

"Wolves that were loyal to you and Caspian. Killing them gave us a way to get Sinaaq into the palace."

"And Amarok?"

"That part was not a lie. Sinaaq never knew that Amarok was in league with me, or else he might not have joined me. In truth, he didn't know who I was either, or he might not have helped me. He merely wanted the power of the Guardians to help him take down Amarok. He just needed a little inspiration, which I provided nicely. He had no idea his wife had bigger plans," Jocelyn replied.

"His _wife_!?" Ava choked out, dropping her hands from Sinaaq's neck, disregarding the pool of blood that had gathered, soaking her dress. Jocelyn took a simple, gold ring out of her pocket and tossed it at Ava. It landed with a heart-stopped _clink-clink_ on the floor in the pool of blood.

"Yes, I married Sinaaq. I knew that would be the only way I could get close enough to him to convince him to do any of this. It was all supposed to be so simple—he would find a way in, gain your trust, procure the needed information, and then leave. After that, he was either going to rule at my side while I took my rightful place as queen of Narnia, or I would kill him. I did not expect him to take this long, nor did I expect him to fancy you."

Ava stared down at Sinaaq's now lifeless body in complete shock and utter horror.

"Yes, he fancied you. I wouldn't call it love, but he was certainly starting to change his mind about me, I couldn't have that. Which is why I sent Amarok to reveal his betrayal, I knew you'd never trust him again after that. It's no matter, as Narnia dies I grow stronger and with the demon of the snows at my disposal, it's only a matter of time before everything is complete."

"You will _never_ take Narnia!" Ava exclaimed, standing up, retrieving a dagger from her bodice, blood covering her gown. She hurled the dagger at the witch, but she merely grabbed it from the air and tossed it aside as if it were nothing.

"Tsk, tsk. You really think that is enough to kill me? Come now, surely you must be smarter than that," Jocelyn looked down at the scene before, seemingly bored, "Well, this has been quite enjoyable, but I'm afraid I must go now. Don't worry, you'll see me again soon enough. Until we meet again, little queen."

And with that, Jocelyn unlocked the door, opened it, and strolled away into the night while Ava looked on, frozen in shock and fear.


	13. Dreaming of Aslan

**Disclaimer: I only claim ownership of Ava Rydia.**

* * *

Ava stood in a pool of Sinaaq's blood, frozen in horror. She had no idea how long she'd been standing there, before she felt the presence of someone else enter the room. She snapped out of her reverie, inhaling slightly. The scent was an unfamiliar one and it reminded her of the ocean breeze and steel, with a hint of crisp pears and fresh limes. She whirled around, her hands up in a defensive stance, and almost smacked Cainen—who was surveying the scene with a look of astonishment—in the face. Quickly, she dropped her hands, but remained tense and ready to fight or run. Cainen put his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"It's just me, Your Majesty, Cainen," he said, his voice soft and cautious.

"I can see that, Cainen. What are you doing meandering about in the halls alone?" Ava replied, trying—and failing—to keep her voice from shaking.

"Well I could ask you the same thing, but I can see you've got enough on your hands already without me asking stupid questions," Cainen answered, gesturing to Sinaaq's body. Ava looked at the body and took a shuddering breath. When she looked back up at Cainen, her eyes were wide and fearful like a doe's and she was trembling.

Seeing this, Cainen's brow furrowed and took a step toward the frightened queen, a hand outstretched to place on her arm carefully.

"Your Majesty, what happened here?" he asked.

Ava was so distraught that she could only stammer incoherently until she collapsed to her knees and burst into tears. Cainen caught her and eased her down to the floor, unsure of what to do. He didn't really know her very well, and it wasn't really his place to comfort the queen. Unfortunately, there was no one else in the immediate vicinity he could call to for help. He rubbed Ava's back softly, feeling awkward and having no idea what to say.

After a few moments, which seemed like a few hours, Ava stopped crying. She composed herself, blotting her face with the back of her hand and stood up, smoothing her ruined gown. She had broken, but now she needed to be a queen again. She exhaled and turned to look at Cainen, who was watching her with wary eyes.

"Tell no one what you have seen here, we need not get the subjects of Narnia in an uproar. Find Caspian and tell him to meet me here," Ava said with the air of authority back in her voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cainen replied, bowing his head and hurrying to the Great Hall to find Caspian.

Ava stared down at Sinaaq's body, her visage cool and unreadable. She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, deciding not to waste words on someone who couldn't hear them anyway.

* * *

Because Sinaaq had no family or friends to bury him, he was given a traitor's funeral. He was given his last rights, and then buried in an unmarked grave deep in the woods.

Ava had become quite reserved over the passing days, completely focused on preparing an army and learning about the Guardians. They were running out of time. For although the element of water had ceased to rage, the other elements were steadily growing worse. There was increasing amounts of discord among the citizens of Narnia, as if some invisible force was whispering in everyone's ears, turning the people of Narnia against each other, making them angry and fearful. Flash fires occurred regularly, and the only plants left alive were the poisonous vines, which would catch and consume any living creature that ventured too close. Sometimes, the flowers would spit creatures back out, gnarled and changed to grotesque monsters. The nights and days were never the same anymore; people found themselves sleeping during sunny afternoons and awake while the moon was out.

One day, while reading another scroll about the Guardians, Ava had fallen asleep on a divan in her room. As she slept, she tossed and turned restlessly, plagued by nightmares of Amarok, Jocelyn, and Sinaaq. This time, she found herself once more kneeling over Sinaaq's bloody corpse, the dagger that killed him in her hand, while Jocelyn laughed maniacally behind her. All at once, the nightmare changed. Ava looked around in her dream, confused—there was no sign that Sinaaq and Jocelyn had ever been there and there was no blood to be found anywhere. A warm light lit up the room, and when it dissipated, Aslan was standing in front of Ava, smiling warmly.

"Aslan!" Ava exclaimed, rushing to him and wrapping her arms around him tightly, weeping into his mane with a mixture of joy and sorrow.

"Hello again, my Waker," Aslan replied, his voice a deep, rumbling chuckle.

"Oh, Aslan, I don't know what to do! Narnia is dying and I don't know how to stop it! And Sinaaq…he…" Ava trailed off, her voice hitching in her throat.

"I know, dear one, I know all that has happened," Aslan said, nuzzling her hair.

"Then why have you not come sooner?" Ava asked, sounding a bit frustrated, but unable to be upset with the Great Lion.

"All things in time," he answered.

"I'm so lost. I don't understand why you made me your Waker—I'm not cut out for this at all," Ava lamented.

"I would not have chosen you if you were not cut out for it, dear one. Contrary to your belief, you are just the right woman for the job," Aslan replied with a warm smile.

"What do you mean?" Ava asked, tilting her head in confusion. Aslan chuckled.

"One day you'll understand, but for now I have something to show you. Follow me."

Aslan lead Ava from the dream hallway into the dream Great Hall. There was a large crowd of people in the room; it looked much like the masquerade ball. Ava looked up at the Great Lion standing next to her.

"What's going on?" she asked, glancing around the room.

"In amongst the crowd are several Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve that I have deemed worthy of being chosen to be Guardians. Only five can be chosen. It is your job to mingle with the people and choose the five Guardians," he replied, nudging her toward the people. Ava nodded and began to move through the room; she observed, eavesdropped on conversations, and even engaged in some small conversation herself. After a while of searching, Ava could not choose and returned to Aslan.

"Have you chosen five people, Waker?" Aslan asked, though he wore a knowing smile. Ava shook her head.

"No. I cannot possibly base such an important decision on so little time knowing someone," she answered.

"Ah, but you see, my Waker, you are basing your decision on surface observations and trivial questions. You must base your decision on what you _feel_. Five people in that room are destined to be Guardians; you merely need to feel them out. _Awaken_ them. The ones you choose will be the ones I send to you. Some of them may be in this world already, while others may be in another world, ready to stumble upon ours at any moment," Aslan explained. Ava nodded and turned back to the room. She closed her eyes and began to move among the people blindly, waiting until she felt a stirring in her soul before she opened them.

The first person that sent a feeling through Ava was a woman with copper red hair that hung to chest and curled at the ends. Her skin was fair and freckled and her eyes were gentle and a calm blue-green color. She was much taller than Ava—possibly five-foot-ten—and built a bit thicker, with a soft, ovaline face. She was pretty, with a certain adorableness about her. Then Ava noticed her clothes—they were not like anything she had ever seen before. Ava looked to Aslan questioningly.

"Who is this woman, and where does she hail from?" she asked, gesturing to her clothes. Aslan smiled.

"Her name is Terra. She hails from another world; the same world, in fact, that the kings and queens of old and the former Warrior and Heart were from."

Ava turned back to the vision of Terra, giving her one last glance before moving on to find the next future Guardian.

This one was a man, who appeared to be about the same age as Ava, maybe a little older. His hair was tousled and a dark, dirty blonde color and his eyes were blue. He was quite tall; maybe six-feet, maybe a bit shorter, and he was quite bulky. He had a round, friendly face, though his eyes were shielded by strange spectacles. Come to think of it, all of his clothes were a bit strange. Ava cast a quizzical stare on Aslan.

"Am I to assume that this man is from the same world as Terra?" she asked.

"Quite right, Waker. His name is Seric," Aslan answered. Ava raised an eyebrow; she had never heard the name Seric before. She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts, closed her eyes, and began her search again. This time, she was surprised to see who she opened her eyes to.

The man that stood before her was none other than Cainen McKlaus. Ava gasped softly in surprise as she stared up at him. When they had met, she had overlooked him terribly, but now as she stood before this vision of him, she scrutinized every detail. He had very soft, square-shaped face; it was almost round, but not quite. His hair was just long enough to run fingers through. His lips were invitingly full, unlike most men, and his eyes were beautiful.

Ava looked back to Cainen and tilted her head quizzically, trying to figure out which Guardian he would be. He had very kind eyes and a kind smile. Sparing Cainen one last look, Ava moved to the next Guardian.

This Guardian was a boy; he couldn't have been older than Cainen; he might have been a bit younger. He had fair skin, but the build of someone who spent long hours working outside and lifting heavy objects. His eyes were large and puppy-like and walnut brown with flecks of green. His hair and facial hair was jet black and cut short. He was a bit shorter than Cainen. Ava took in his appearance and glanced at Aslan.

"Though you may not be able to tell at first glance, Bart is Cainen's younger brother," Aslan said, answering the unspoken question.

Ava closed her eyes once more, searching carefully for the last person to be a Guardian. She searched intently, growing anxious as time passed without a feeling hitting her. Finally, she felt a twinge in her soul and opened her eyes, walking closer to the source of the twinge. She was drawn to a woman standing by herself, watching everyone else. Ava was not sure whether the woman was being observant or cautious. She had a heart-shaped face, with hint of mischief hidden in her features, and fair skin that had been lightly tanned—like the tan one gets from being outside regularly, but not regularly enough to become dark. Her hair brushed her shoulders, curving towards her face ever-so-slightly, and was the same henna-brown color as Ava's. She was a bit taller than Ava, but built about the same, but with more muscle. Her clothes revealed that she was, quite clearly, from the same world as Seric and Terra.

"Her name is Alice," Aslan said, knowing what Ava's next question would be.

Ava returned to Aslan's side. "I have made my choices, Aslan."

"Yes, dear one, I know. Now it is time to decide which Guardian each of your choices will be," Aslan replied. Ava thought for a moment, and then realizing thinking would get her nowhere, focused on her innermost feelings and instincts. When she finally opened her eyes again, it felt as if an hour had passed. Though, being a dream, there was no telling what time was like here.

"My instincts are clear when it comes to Terra, Cainen, and Alice," Ava said. Aslan nodded, telling her to continue. "Terra is to be the Healer. Being near her makes me feel alive and revitalized; as if I'm in a garden surrounded by lush, green plants in a calm, quiet place."

"A very good choice, my Waker. Go on," Aslan said, nodding with approval.

"As soon as I met Alice, I knew she was to be the Warrior. I cannot explain why, though I feel as if she has much self-discovering to do—discoveries that will lead her to be the perfect Warrior of Narnia," Ava explained.

Aslan nodded, a knowing smile on his face. "Excellent decision."

"Now, this may sound strange, but I believe that Cainen should be the Reaper. I do not know much about him, but I know for certain that he is a deeply caring soul, and the title of Reaper should be given to someone with caring soul, not someone consumed by darkness as one might think. Death is not evil, only frightening; all the more reason for a calm and composed person to take the job," Ava said, half talking to Aslan and half thinking aloud.

"A wise choice, Ava. Now what about the other two?" Aslan asked, nodded toward the room. Ava turned back to the Great Hall, only to find that everyone except the five future Guardians had disappeared. She stared at Seric and Bart for a long time, searching deep within her for an answer and frowning when she couldn't decide who should be the Heart and who should be the Judge. After some consideration, Ava pursed her lips and turned back to Aslan.

"I think I will let Seric and Bart discover who they are on their own. One of them is the next Heart and the other is the future Judge. Who is who, I am not sure of yet."

"Your decision is admirable. Rather than making a choice using trivial means, you have decided to let the Guardians make the choice themselves. I am very proud of you, dear one," Aslan said.

"Thank you, Aslan," Ava replied, nodding respectfully. "What happens now?" she asked, her expression curious.

"For now, dear one, I leave you to sleep in peace. The Guardians you have chosen will be sent to you in due time," Aslan answered.

Before Ava could say more, the Great Lion breathed on her face and the dream faded away, leaving Ava in a deep, restful sleep.


End file.
